Paired drone-based systems and methods for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle

ABSTRACT

Drone-based systems and methods for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle are described. A system has a delivery vehicle transceiver and an inspection drone paired to the vehicle that aerially inspects the vehicle. The delivery vehicle transceiver has a user interface and a wireless radio, while the paired inspection drone has a housing, onboard controller, memory storage, lifting engines, and a communication interface. The drone&#39;s onboard controller is operative to identify different existing delivery vehicle inspection points from an inspection profile record; receive an inspection update message from the communication interface; update the existing delivery vehicle inspection points with additional inspection points to yield a targeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle; and conduct the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle by gathering the detected sensor-based inspection information related to each of the targeted inspection points.

PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application hereby claims the benefit of priority to relatedU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/400,906 and entitled“Drone-based Monitoring of Shipped Items in a Deliver Vehicle,Drone-based Inspections of the Delivery Vehicle, and Providing AdaptiveExtension of Communications With One or More Items Shipped Within theDelivery Vehicle Using a Drone-based Aerial Communication Hub.”

The present continuation application is also related in subject matterto the following U.S. non-provisional patent applications where eachalso claims the benefit of priority to the same above-referencedprovisional patent application: (1) Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. 15/710,957 entitled “Systems and Methods for Monitoring theInternal Storage Contents of a Shipment Storage Using One or MoreInternal Monitor Drones”; (2) Non-Provisional patent application Ser.No. 15/710,980 entitled “Systems and Methods for Inspecting a DeliveryVehicle Using a Paired Inspection Drone”; (3) Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 15/711,005 entitled “Aerial Drone-based Systems andMethods for Adaptively Providing an Aerial Relocatable Communication HubWithin a Delivery Vehicle”; (4) Non-Provisional patent application Ser.No. 15/711,136 entitled “Enhanced Systems, Apparatus, and Methods forPositioning of an Airborne Relocatable Communication Hub Supporting aPlurality of Wireless Devices”; (5) Non-Provisional patent applicationSer. No. 15/711,244 entitled “Paired Drone-based Systems and Methods forConducting a Verified Inspection of a Delivery Vehicle.”

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to systems, apparatus, andmethods in the field of airborne drones integrally applied to differentlogistics operations and, more particularly, to various aspects ofsystems, apparatus, and methods related to logistics operations using anaerial inspection or communication drone to enhance monitoring ofshipped items in a delivery vehicle, perform various types ofinspections of the delivery vehicle, and providing a drone-basedairborne relocatable communication hub within a delivery vehicle as thedrone is exclusively paired with the delivery vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Delivery vehicles are often used as part of a logistics operation thatships one or more items from one location to another. Examples of such adelivery vehicle may include an aircraft, an automotive vehicle (such asa delivery van or a tractor trailer), a rail car, or a marine vessel.Logistics operations that ship items from one location to another dependupon a sufficient operational status of the delivery vehicle in order tosafely and securely move such items as well as for the delivery vehicleto safely and securely maintain the items in a desired configurationwhile being transported within a storage area of the delivery vehicle.Such a storage area (more generally referred to as a shipment storage)may, for example, come in the form of a storage compartment of anaircraft, a storage area on a delivery van, a trailer that is moved by atruck, a train car capable of being moved by a locomotive on a railwaysystem, or a cargo hold of a marine vessel.

One problem commonly faced when maintaining items within such a storagearea or shipment storage is how to monitor such items. In someinstances, the items may be equipped with radio frequency identification(RFID) tags and interrogated by multiple RFID readers disposed withindifferent parts of the shipment storage. While an RFID reader and itsreader antenna has a characteristic read range for communicating withRFID tags, the read range may pose a limitation given the size of theshipment storage as well as for items that are not equipped with suchRFID tags. There remains a need to monitor the internal storage contentsof a shipment storage in a more robust and inclusive manner as well asin an adaptive way that avoids the need for large numbers of fixedmonitors.

Beyond the challenges with monitoring items maintained within a shipmentstorage, further problems may be encountered with delivery vehicle basedlogistics operations that involve inspecting key parts of the deliveryvehicle. For example, manual inspection of parts of a delivery vehiclecan be undesirably expensive and time consuming for logistics personnel,such as flight crew personnel responsible for operating an aircraft typeof delivery vehicle or maintenance personnel responsible for servicingsuch an aircraft. In some situations, the point to be inspected may notbe easily reached or viewed by such personnel and may unfortunatelyrequire deployment of support structures, such as a ladder or gantry inorder to gain access to such an inspection point. Doing so undesirablyslows down the delivery vehicle based logistics operation.

Further still, problems may be encountered with limited communicationswith and/or between one or more items being shipped within the deliveryvehicle. For example, in some instances, the communication range of arespective item is not far enough to allow communication with anotheritem or other network device (such as a wireless transceiver onboard thedelivery vehicle or disposed relative to a logistics facility). Thismay, in some instances, result in the loss of communication with an itemin total or periodically while the item is being transported ormaintained within the delivery vehicle.

To address one or more of these issues, there is a need for a technicalsolution that may be deployed as part of delivery logistics operationsto enhance monitoring of shipped items in a delivery vehicle,inspections of the delivery vehicle, and providing adaptively extendedand enhanced communications with one or more items shipped within adelivery vehicle.

SUMMARY

In the following description, certain aspects and embodiments willbecome evident. It should be understood that the aspects andembodiments, in their broadest sense, could be practiced without havingone or more features of these aspects and embodiments. It should beunderstood that these aspects and embodiments are merely exemplary.

In general, aspects of the disclosure relate to drone-based improvementsto the technology of logistics operations that involve methods,apparatus, and systems using a paired inspection drone for conducting amodified inspection of a delivery vehicle. The aerial inspection dronepaired to the delivery vehicle may advantageously and unconventionallybe responsively re-tasked to conduct a modified airborne inspection of adifferent set of delivery vehicle parts, change how to inspect a givenset of delivery vehicle parts, or both. Such a responsive and dynamicability to update, modify, or change what should be inspected and howsuch inspection points should be inspected provides a furtherimprovement on how a delivery vehicle is inspected. As such, thisprovides a technical solution that improves how a delivery vehicle maybe more efficiently self-inspecting using an exclusively paired aerialinspection drone that can be updated on-the-fly to modify how thedelivery vehicle is to be inspected or alter how an ongoing inspectionis to be completed by such a paired aerial inspection drone

In particular, one aspect of the disclosure focuses on a drone-basedsystem for conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle. Thissystem generally includes an inspection drone paired to the deliveryvehicle and operative to aerially inspect the delivery vehicle, and adelivery vehicle transceiver. More specifically, the paired inspectiondrone has at least a main housing, an onboard controller disposed withinthe main housing, and a memory storage coupled to the onboard controllerand maintaining an inspection profile record corresponding to thedelivery vehicle. The paired inspection drone also includes liftingengines coupled with respective lifting rotors, where each of thelifting engines is fixed to a different portion of the main housing andresponsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controlleras part of maintaining a desired flight profile. The paired inspectiondrone also has at least one sensor coupled to the onboard controller,where the sensor is operative to (a) detect sensor-based inspectioninformation while the paired inspection drone is airborne, and (b)provide the detected sensor-based inspection information to the onboardcontroller. The paired inspection drone further uses a communicationinterface coupled to the onboard controller. This communicationinterface is operative to at least receive an inspection update messagerelated to the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. The deliveryvehicle transceiver in the system is implemented with at least a userinterface for accepting input identifying one or more additionalinspection points related to the delivery vehicle, and a wireless radiooperative to transmit the inspection update message to the communicationinterface of the paired inspection drone. The inspection update messageidentifies the additional inspection points accepted as input on theuser interface. During operation, the system's paired inspection droneis operative to configure its onboard controller to access the memorystorage to identify a plurality of existing delivery vehicle inspectionpoints from the inspection profile record stored in the memory storage,receive the inspection update message from the communication interface,update the existing delivery vehicle inspection points with the at leastone or more additional inspection points to yield a plurality oftargeted inspection points corresponding to respective parts of thedelivery vehicle, and conduct the modified inspection of the deliveryvehicle by gathering the detected sensor-based inspection informationrelated to each of the targeted inspection points in conjunction withthe sensors and other parts of the drone.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a drone-based method for conductinga modified inspection of a delivery vehicle is described. The methodgenerally begins with an inspection drone paired to the delivery vehiclereceiving an inspection update message from a first transceiver. Such aninspection update message identifies at least one or more additionalinspection points associated with the delivery vehicle. The methodcontinues with the paired inspection drone updating existing deliveryvehicle inspection points for the delivery vehicle with one or moreadditional inspection points to yield a group of targeted inspectionpoints corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle. Themethod then proceeds with a sensor on the paired inspection droneconducting the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle by gatheringsensor-based inspection information related to each of the targetedinspection points. Such a method may also provide the sensor-basedinspection information by the sensor to an onboard processor on thepaired inspection drone, automatically identify an out of acceptablerange inspection condition about at least one of the targeted inspectionpoints based upon the sensor-based inspection information, andresponsively transmitting an inspection notification message to adelivery vehicle receiver disposed on the delivery vehicle uponidentifying the inspection condition for the relevant targetedinspection point is outside the acceptable range for operation of thedelivery vehicle.

Additional advantages of these and other aspects of the disclosedembodiments and examples will be set forth in part in the descriptionwhich follows, and in part will be evident from the description, or maybe learned by practice of the invention. It is to be understood thatboth the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictiveof the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate several embodiments according toone or more principles of the invention and together with thedescription, serve to explain one or more principles of the invention.In the drawings,

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an exemplary aircraft having a shipment storagewith a closable entry for access to within the shipment storage inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1B is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based monitored storagesystem, including an exemplary shipment storage having an internaldocking station and internal monitor drone in a secured position on thedocking station in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1C is another diagram of the exemplary drone-based monitoredstorage system shown in FIG. 1A where the internal monitor drone hastransitioned off the secured position on the docking station to anexemplary airborne position within the shipment storage, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram providing further details of an exemplaryinternal monitor drone in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of connected electronic and sensorycomponents of an exemplary internal monitor drone in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are more detailed diagrams providing further details ofan exemplary internal docking station that can interface with aninternal monitor drone in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-basedmethod for monitoring the internal storage contents of a shipmentstorage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an exemplary multiple drone-based monitoredstorage system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary multiple aerialdrone-based method for monitoring the internal storage contents of ashipment storage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 8A-8G are diagrams of an exemplary drone-based inspection systemusing an exemplary paired inspection drone that inspects targeted pointson a delivery vehicle from inside the delivery vehicle and outside thedelivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of connected electronic and sensorycomponents of an exemplary paired inspection drone in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary paired inspection dronecoupled to an exemplary control tether in accordance with an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary drone-based methodfor inspecting a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram of an exemplary delivery vehicle inspection systemthat includes an aerial inspection drone paired to a delivery vehicleand exemplary mobile interactive transceivers operated by differentpersonnel associated with the delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system for conducting amodified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of components of an exemplarydelivery vehicle transceiver in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system for conducting amodified inspection of a delivery vehicle that includes a mobiletransceiver device used in support of delivery vehicle operations thatis physically separate from the delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary drone-based methodfor conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system used to conducta verified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 18A-18F are diagrams of the exemplary drone-based system of FIG.17 using an exemplary paired inspection drone to communicate with adelivery vehicle transceiver related to an interactive interventionrequest and interaction with the transceiver's user interface related toconducting the modified inspection with additional sensor-basedinspection information and relevant verification result input inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 19A-19B are flow diagrams that collectively illustrate anexemplary drone-based method for conducting a verified inspection of adelivery vehicle that involves an automatically generated interactiveintervention request in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an exemplary paired aerial drone-based systemused to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within adelivery vehicle for a plurality of broadcast-enabled devices maintainedwithin the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic illustration of connected electronic and sensorycomponents of an exemplary paired aerial communication drone inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of another exemplary paired aerial drone-basedsystem used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub withina delivery vehicle between a central communication station and abroadcast-enabled device maintained within the delivery vehicle inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are diagrams of another exemplary paired aerialdrone-based system used to provide an airborne relocatable communicationhub within a delivery vehicle where at least one of thebroadcast-enabled devices maintained within the delivery vehicle is amobile personal communication device in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 24 is a diagram of another exemplary paired aerial drone-basedsystem used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub withina delivery vehicle where two of the broadcast-enabled devices maintainedwithin the delivery vehicle are mobile personal communication devices inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 25A-25C are logical diagrams illustrating exemplary relationshipsbetween an exemplary paired aerial communication drone and multiplebroadcast-enabled devices maintained within a delivery vehicle atdifferent network levels in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 26A is a diagram of an exemplary paired aerial communication droneat a first deployed airborne position within a delivery vehicle andmultiple broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the deliveryvehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26B is a diagram of an exemplary paired aerial communication droneat a second deployed airborne position within a delivery vehicle andmultiple broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the deliveryvehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-basedmethod for providing an airborne relocatable communication hub within adelivery vehicle for a plurality of broadcast-enabled devices maintainedwithin the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram illustrating an improved method for enhancedpositioning of an airborne relocatable communication hub supporting aplurality of wireless devices and based on connection signal strength inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram illustrating another improved method forenhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hubsupporting a plurality of wireless devices and based on deviceconcentration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 30 is a flow diagram illustrating yet another improved method forenhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hubsupporting a plurality of wireless devices and based on directionalsensing of the wireless devices in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary embodiments.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the description to refer to the same or like parts. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that different embodiments mayimplement a particular part in different ways according to the needs ofthe intended deployment and operating environment for the respectiveembodiments.

In general, the following describes various embodiments of differentsystems, apparatus, and applied methods that deploy an aerial monitor,inspection and/or communication drone as an extension of a deliveryvehicle. These embodiments provide advantageous and unconventionaltechnical solutions focused on improving how to monitor the deliveryvehicle's contents, inspect parts of the delivery vehicle, and/or how toallow for robust communications between devices within the deliveryvehicle. Many of these embodiments rely on such an aerial drone that maybe internally docked onboard the delivery vehicle and exclusivelyassigned as a paired device to the delivery vehicle. As such, the paireddrone travels with and operates solely with respect to the deliveryvehicle and the contents maintained therein.

The below described drone-based embodiments may individually relate toimprovements on monitoring the delivery vehicle's contents, inspectingparts of the delivery vehicle, or how to allow for robust communicationsbetween devices within the delivery vehicle. Furthermore, those skilledin the art will appreciate that additional embodiments may combine someof these otherwise independent drone-based solutions to provide for aneven more robust paired logistics drone that is exclusively assigned toa delivery vehicle and can provide two or more of such monitoring,inspecting, and communication hub service functionality as described inmore detail below.

Drone-Based Monitored Shipment Storage

In more detail, FIGS. 1A-7 relate to embodiments of drone-basedmonitored storage systems where one or more internal monitor drones maybe deployed from one or more respective internal docking stations of ashipment storage to monitor and detect the condition of items beingshipped within the shipment storage. Referring now to FIG. 1A, anexemplary delivery vehicle having a shipment storage is shown as alogistics aircraft 100 that transports items between differentlocations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplaryaircraft 100 is shown in a simplified form having an operational controlsection 105 (e.g., a cockpit from which flight personnel can control andfly the aircraft 100) and a shipment storage 110 used for maintainingitems being shipped within aircraft 100 between different locations. Theshipment storage 110 may, for example, encompass one or more internalcompartments of the aircraft, such as a central shipment storage area ordifferent internal compartmentalized shipment storage areas where eachstorage area is configured to maintain items being shipped within theaircraft 100. Aside from a storage compartment within an aircraft, suchas aircraft 100, other embodiments of a shipment storage may comprise atrailer capable of being moved by a truck, a train car capable of beingmoved on a railway system.

In the exemplary aircraft 100 shown in FIG. 1A, an exemplary closableentry 112 is illustrated that provides access to within the onboardshipment storage 110. Such a closable entry may take the form of door112, which may be opened for loading and unloading operations and thensecured for in-flight operations. Such a closable entry may, forexample, also take the form of a rear ramp that may be opened andsecurely closed to provide access to the aircraft's shipment storagefrom the rear of the aircraft. In another example, such a closeableentry may be implemented with a belly door of the aircraft so as toprovide access from beneath the aircraft. Further still, those skilledin the art will appreciate that different types of entry or accessstructure (e.g., doors, hatches, ramps, etc.) may be deployed ondifferent kinds of delivery vehicles (e.g., tractor trailer, marinevessel, railroad car, etc.) in other embodiments that provide access toa shipment storage area within the delivery vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the operational control section 105 of exemplaryaircraft 100 may also include a vehicle transceiver 135. In general,such a vehicle transceiver 135 may be implemented as a standalone unit(e.g., a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraftcrew personnel) or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite.Vehicle transceiver 135 may be used in embodiments to communicate withdevices located inside and outside of aircraft 100. For example, vehicletransceiver 135 may communicate with a local logistics operation server(not shown), a remote cloud-based logistics management system (notshown), loading/unloading logistics personnel via radio-basedtransceivers (not shown), or vehicle maintenance personnel via similartypes of radio-based transceivers (not shown)). Those skilled in the artwill understand that such radio-based transceivers deployed with suchpersonnel may be implemented as wireless handheld devices (such assmartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHF handheld radios, and the like)that communicate with vehicle transceiver 135 over a compatiblecommunication path (e.g., a designated radio frequency, a cellularnetwork, a data communication network, and the like). Additionally,vehicle transceiver 135 may be used in embodiments to communicate withan internal docking station 130 (e.g., via a wired or wirelessconnection) and/or an internal monitor drone 125 (e.g., via a wirelessconnection) disposed within aircraft 100 as described in more detailbelow. Further still, vehicle transceiver 135 may in some embodiments,provide an intermediary role between two other devices, such as betweenthe internal monitor drone 125 and a radio-based transceiver operated bymaintenance personnel assigned to the aircraft 100 or between theinternal monitor drone 125 and a cloud-based logistics management system(i.e., a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet that canstore, manage, and process shipment management information (such asloading plan data, messaging data related to the status of shippingitems on aircraft 100, and the like) rather than a locally hostedlogistics server).

As shown in FIG. 1B, exemplary shipment storage 110 within aircraft 100includes an interior shipment storage area 120 and a drone storage area115. While closable entry 112 from FIG. 1A is not shown in FIG. 1B,those skilled in the art will appreciate that interior shipment storagearea 120 is both accessible through the closable entry 112 (directly or,in some embodiments indirectly) and used to temporarily maintain custodyof one or more items being shipped within the interior shipment storagearea 120 (as the internal storage contents of shipment storage 120),such as shipping items 140 a-140 b or broadcast-enabled types ofshipping items 145 a-145 e. Exemplary shipping items 140 a-140 b, 145a-145 e may include packaged or unpackaged items being transported aloneor as part of a group of items (e.g., the group of items 145 b-145 estrapped and fixed relative to shipping pallet 150 or a group of itemsmaintained within a single packaged shipping item, such as a crate, box,or other logistics container). Likewise, those skilled in the art willappreciate that a shipping item may be implemented with a unit loaddevice (ULD) used with aircraft-based logistics operations.Additionally, one or more shipping items may be placed within a singleULD or other logistics container prior to loading into shipment storagearea 120. Thus, a shipping item maintained within interior shipmentstorage area 120 may be implemented as a single item, a packaged item, agroup of items being shipped together in a package, or a group ofseparately packaged items being shipped together as a unit (e.g., amulti-piece shipment on a pallet 150).

While some shipping items maintained within interior shipment storagearea 120 do not emit broadcast signals (such as items 140 a-140 b),exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e may be deployedin some embodiments within interior shipment storage area 120 tobroadcast signals related to the condition of the respective item oritems being shipped. For example, broadcast-enabled shipping items 145a-145 e may accomplish such broadcast functionality with a sensor-basedtag (such as an RFID tag) that requires interrogation, prompting, orpolling in order to initiate the broadcast of such signals. However, inother embodiments, broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e mayaccomplish such broadcast functionality with a more independent nodetype of active sensor-based device that has a radio-based wirelesstransmitter or transceiver and that can broadcast the condition of item(e.g., an environmental condition of the item using one or more sensorson the device) without being polled or interrogated to do so. Inparticular, such sensor-based devices deployed as part of thebroadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e may, for example, transmitor receive Bluetooth®, Zigbee, cellular, or other wireless formattedsignals. Such devices or tags may be attached or otherwise secured tothe shipping item, included in a package with the shipping item, orembedded as part of the package or packaging material used with theshipping item.

The drone storage area 115 within the shipment storage 110 is alsoaccessible through the closable entry 112 and is separate from theinterior shipment storage area 120. In particular, drone storage area115 is located in a designated area within the shipment storage 110 thathouses an internal docking station 130 for an internal monitor drone 125paired with the aircraft 100. The separation of area 115 from area 120allows for the internal monitor drone 125 to have open access to theinternal docking station 130, where the internal monitor drone 125 mayland, be secured within the shipment storage 110, receive charging powerfor flight operations within the shipment storage 110, and receive otherdata from the docking station 130 as described in more detail herein.

FIG. 1B shows internal monitor drone 125 in a secured position on theinternal docking station 130. Such a secured position may beaccomplished, as described in more detail below, by selectively matingparts of the internal monitor drone 125 to parts of the internal dockingstation 130. In some embodiments, certain parts of the internal monitordrone 125 may be actuated to couple or uncouple the drone 125 relativeto parts of the docking station 130. In other embodiments, certain partsof the internal docking station 130 may be actuated to couple oruncouple the docking station 130 relative to parts of the internalmonitor drone 125. Further still, other embodiments may selectively matethe drone 125 and the docking station 130 with actuated parts on both ofthe drone 125 and the docking station 130. Thus, various embodiments mayhave parts of the internal monitor drone 125 selectively mated to aphysical docking interface of the internal docking station 130 in orderto achieve a secure position of the internal monitor drone 125. Forexample, selectively energized magnetic attachments may be utilized tosecure drone 125 and docking station 130 in other embodiments.

In this secured position, the internal monitor drone 125 may be poweredoff or in a low power state where drone 125 may be charging and/orcommunicating with either or both of internal docking station 130 andvehicle transceiver 135 (e.g., downloading data off of drone 125 whilesecured to docking station 130, uploading data related to flight controlinstructions for the internal monitor drone 125, etc.). When theinternal monitor drone 125 is activated (e.g., by receiving anactivation command via a wired signal from the internal docking station130 or via reception of a wireless signal), the internal monitor drone125 transitions to an active monitoring state as part of a logisticsoperation related to the shipment storage (e.g., during a loading orunloading operation of the internal shipment storage area 120, or duringan in-transit monitoring operation of the internal shipment storage area120 of the shipment storage 110 while the shipment storage 110 ismoving). The internal monitor drone 125 then is automatically uncoupledfrom the internal docking station 130, and moves from the securedposition to an initial airborne position so that the drone 125 may thenmove along an airborne monitoring path within the interior shipmentstorage area 120 as shown in FIG. 1C. While moving along the airbornemonitoring path within area 120, the internal monitor drone usesguidance components, such as proximity sensors, to help guide the drone125 along the path while deploying an onboard sensor array to gathersensory information (such as environmental information) as a way ofautonomously detecting a condition of one or more items being shippedwithin the storage area 120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of exemplary internal monitor drone 125 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG. 2,an exterior of exemplary internal monitor drone 125 is shown having anairframe 200; rotors 205 a, 205 b; lifting engines 210 a, 210 b;proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b; landing gear 220 a, 220 b; a sensorarray 230; and an electronic docking connection 235. In more detail, theairframe 200 provides a core structure or housing for drone 125, whichmay be implemented as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having two ormore sources of propulsion (e.g., lifting engines). The airframe 200 maybe equipped with a central portion (or main deck) at its core thathouses many of the drone's internal components and with multiple arms ofthe airframe extending between the central portion and each liftingengine 210 a, 210 b. The airframe 200 may be implemented with anenclosure/housing or may be implemented without such anenclosure/housing. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatairframe 200 may be implemented using low weight carbon fiber or otherlight weight rigid materials. Further, while FIG. 2 presents airframe200 in a two-dimensional view, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat airframe 200 may be implemented in a tri-copter, quad-copter, orhex-copter configuration to accommodate a desired number of liftingengines as needed for a particular embodiment. Examples of such anairframe 200 may include Model 680UC Pro Hexa-Copter Umbrella Carbonairframe from Quanum that has an articulating/retractable landing gearwheelbase, a Turnigy H.A.L. (Heavy Aerial Lift) Quadcopter Frame 585 mmairframe, a Turnigy Talon Carbon Fiber Quadcopter airframe, or a moresimplified Quanum Chaotic 3D Quad airframe.

Rotors 205 a, 205 b are respectively coupled to each of lifting engines210 a, 210 b, which are fixed to different portions of airframe 200 toprovide selectively controlled sources of propulsion for internalmonitor drone 125. An embodiment of lifting engines 210 a, 210 b may beimplemented using multiple brushless electric motors (e.g., NTM PropDrive Series 35-30 electric motors, LDPOWER brushless multirotor motors,and the like). In some embodiments, rotors 205 a, 205 b are alsoprotected with rotor guards (also known as prop guards but not shown inFIG. 2) to avoid damage to rotors 205 a, 205 b during operation of drone125. Some prop guards may encircle the entire rotational area for arespective rotor, while other types of prop guards may only provide aradius of protection along the outward facing edges of where arespective rotor operates. The lifting engines 210 a, 210 b, as coupledwith respective rotors 205 a, 205 b, are responsive to flight controlinput generated onboard internal monitor drone 125 as part ofmaintaining a desired flight profile for the drone 125.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the exemplary airframe 200 hasproximity sensors 215 a, 215 b disposed at multiple locations around theairframe 200 that serve as location indicators. Proximity sensors 215 a,215 b may be configured on airframe 200 to focus outwardly in differentdirections relative to the airframe 200—e.g., up, down, and alongdifferent sides of airframe 200. The output of such proximity sensors215 a, 215 b may be provided to a flight controller within internalmonitor drone 125 as a positional warning for any desired or currentflight path. Different embodiments of proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b mayuse one or more different technologies—e.g., magnetic proximity sensors,visual proximity sensors, photoelectric proximity sensors, ultrasonicproximity sensors, laser range finding proximity sensors, capacitiveproximity sensors, and/or inductive proximity sensors.

Landing gear 220 a, 220 b is disposed along the bottom of the internalmonitor drone 125. Landing gear 220 a, 220 b may be in the form of legs,skids, articulating wheels, and the like used to support the drone 125when landing on internal docking station 130 and as at least part ofholding drone 125 secure relative to the docking station 130. In oneembodiment, landing gear 220 a, 220 b may be articulated by a dockingcontrol interface on internal monitor drone 125 that may move, rotate,and/or retract the landing gear 220 a, 220 b with servos or otheractuators onboard the internal monitor drone 125. In this way, the drone125 may cause the landing gear 220 a, 220 b to move or rotate in orderto hold the drone 125 in a secure position relative to moving ornon-moving parts of the internal docking station 130; and/or retractupon transitioning from the secure position to an airborne position.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that extending the landing gear220 a, 220 b helps to support the drone 125 and protect the sensor array230 and electronic docking connection 235 positioned beneath the drone125, while retracting the landing gear 220 a, 220 b helps to clearobstructions from the sensory view of the sensor array 230.

A further embodiment, may have selectively energized magnets that may beextended to operate as landing gear 220 a, 220 b such that the extendedmagnetic structure may act as a physical protective structure as well asto provide structure that can be articulated and then energized so tomake a secure magnetic connection with a surface (such as a surface oninternal docking station 130).

Sensor array 230 is generally two or more sensor elements that aremounted on one or more points of the airframe 200 (such as along thebottom of the airframe 200). In such a configuration, sensor array 230gathers sensory information relative to shipping items (such as items140 a-145 e) as the internal monitor drone 125 moves from an initialairborne position along an airborne monitoring path within the interiorshipment storage area 120 of the shipment storage 110. Such an airbornemonitoring path may be preprogrammed into the internal monitor drone 125to account for the size, boundaries, and any fixed obstacles relative tothe internal shipment storage area 120 and a loading plan for theinternal shipment storage area 120 that spatially accounts for whatshould be loaded within area 120.

In various embodiments, sensor array 230 may be implemented with one ormore different types of sensors or receivers. In one example, sensorarray 230 may use one or more environmental sensors where each sensordetects environmental information when positioned at and relative to theenvironmental surroundings existing at multiple airborne locations(e.g., within effective sensor range of particular shipping items)within the shipment storage 110. Such environmental information isdetected as the internal monitor drone 125 transits the airbornemonitoring path within the interior shipment storage area 120. Basedupon the detected environmental information obtained by the group ofenvironmental sensors in sensor array 230, the internal monitor drone125 can autonomously detect an environmental condition of items beingshipped within shipment storage 110. In more detail, the environmentalcondition detected may be a movement condition as sensed by a motionsensor operating as the environmental sensor, a light condition assensed by a light sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a soundcondition as sensed by a microphone operating as the environmentalsensor, a temperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensoroperating as the environmental sensor, a smoke condition as sensed by asmoke sensor operating as the environmental sensor, a humidity conditionas sensed by a moisture sensor operating as the environmental sensor,and a pressure condition as sensed by a pressure sensor operating as theenvironmental sensor. Thus, an embodiment of sensor array 230 may deploymultiple different types of environmental sensors (as noted above) soare to provide a robust and multi-faceted environmental monitoringcapability to the internal monitor drone 125.

In some embodiments, sensor array 230 may also include an image sensoras another type of sensing element. Such an image sensor, as part ofsensor array 230, may capture images of the items being shipped as theinternal monitor drone 125 transits the airborne monitoring path withinthe internal shipment storage area 120. In other words, the imagescaptured by such an image sensor are from different airborne locationswithin the shipment storage 110 as the internal monitor drone 125transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipmentstorage area 120. For example, as internal monitor drone 125 enters anactive monitoring state and moves from a secured position on internaldocking station 130 to above shipping item 140 b, an image sensor fromsensor array 230 may capture images (e.g., still pictures or video;visual images; and/or thermal images) that may be used as sensoryinformation for detecting a condition of the shipping item 140 b (e.g.,a broken package for shipping item 140 b, a leak coming from shippingitem 140 b, etc.). Exemplary image sensor may be implemented with a typeof camera that captures images, thermal images, video images, or othertypes of filtered or enhanced images that reflect the contents of theinternal shipment storage area 120 and provide information about thestatus of the shipping items within that area 120. Exemplary imagesensor may also read and provide imagery or other information thatidentifies an asset number on an item maintained within the internalshipment storage area 120 (which may eliminate the need for barcodescanning).

In further embodiments, sensor array 230 may also include a depth sensoras a further type of sensing element that may make up the array. Thisdepth sensor may be a depth-sensing camera or stereo camera that caninteractively capture or map a configuration of the interior shipmentstorage area 120 of the shipment storage 110 as the internal monitordrone 125 transits the airborne monitoring path within the interiorshipment storage area 120. This configuration of the interior shipmentstorage area represents a multi-dimensional mapping of at least theitems being shipped within the interior shipment storage area 120 of theshipment storage 110 (i.e., shipping items 140 a-145 e as shown in FIGS.1B and 1C). As will be discussed in more detail below, comparisons ofsuch mapped configurations of the interior shipment storage area 120over time allow for detection of a movement condition for one or moreitems in the area 120 as monitored from the aerial positions by theinternal monitor drone 125. This may be especially helpful duringtransit as aircraft 100 is airborne and emerges from rough weatherconditions where turbulence may have been experienced, and robustmonitoring with aerially coordinated depth sensing can check for looseshipping items and help avoid dangerous in-flight cargo scenarios.Additional embodiments may use an ultrasonic transducer as a type ofdepth sensor that uses sound ways to map surfaces or to help validatedata received by a depth sensor camera.

In still other embodiments, sensor array 230 may include a scanningsensor, such as a barcode reader, that scans an identification symbolfixed to one of the items being shipped as the internal monitor drone125 transits the airborne monitoring path within the interior shipmentstorage area 120 of the shipment storage 110. If an embodimentimplements such a scanning sensor with a barcode reader, theidentification symbol may be a barcode symbol identifying shippinginformation related to the item being shipped. In another embodiment,such an identification symbol may be a sign affixed to the shipping itemwhere the sign identifies shipment loading information related toplacement of the item when being shipped within the shipment storage110. As will be described in more detail below, scanning of a shippingitem (such as items 140 a-145 e) by a scanning sensor within the sensorarray 230 of internal monitor drone 125 may be used as part ofdetermining a loading status of that shipping item relative to a loadingplan for the shipment storage 110.

In another embodiment, sensory array 230 may also include a radio-basedreceiver that functions to monitor for signals broadcast from differentshipping items. For example, sensory array 230 may have a Bluetooth orZigbee radio transceiver that can scan and listen for wireless signalsbeing broadcast from one of the broadcast-enabled shipping items 145a-145 e being loaded, unloaded, or existing within the internal shipmentstorage area 120. Such wireless signals may include conditioninformation (e.g., environmental sensory information) so that theinternal monitor drone 125 may autonomously detect a condition of one ofthe broadcast-enabled shipping items via such wireless signals.

Further still, it is contemplated that an embodiment of sensor array 230may include multiple different types of sensor elements—e.g., one ormore different types of environmental sensors, one or more imagesensors, one or more depth sensors, and one or more scanning sensors. Inthis way, different embodiments of the exemplary internal monitor drone125 may deploy a rich and robust variety of different types of sensingelements to make up the sensor array 230.

Different embodiments of sensor array 230 may be connected to theairframe 200 of internal monitor drone 125 in various different ways.For example, in one embodiment, the sensor array 230 may be fixedrelative to the airframe 200 of internal monitor drone 125. This may belimited to a lower or bottom surface of the airframe 200, but otherembodiments may deploy some sensing elements of the sensor array 230 onother parts of the airframe so as to allow the internal monitor drone125 to continue capturing relevant sensory information even if the drone125 descends between two shipping items. In still other embodiments, thesensor array 230 may be fixed relative to the airframe 200 but stillhave selective movement capabilities controlled by the internal monitordrone 125—e.g., moving lenses that allow for selective focusingabilities for an image sensor, articulating scanning sensors that allowfor selective aiming of a barcode scanning laser, etc. Further still,the sensory array 230 may be deployed on an entirely movable structurerelative to the airframe 200, such as a gimballed platform that may becontrolled to maintain a reference orientation. Thus, in such anembodiment where some or all sensor elements of the sensor array 230 areon a gimballed platform part of airframe 200 (not shown in FIG. 2), thecircuitry within the internal monitor drone 125 may use a separategimbal controller, such as an AlexMos brushless gimbal controller (BGC)from Quanum or an H4-3D GoPro gimbal from DJI, to interface to adedicated brushless gimbal motor that articulates such a platform inorder to keep those sensors of the sensor array 230 deployed on thatplatform in a reference orientation and attitude.

Finally, FIG. 2 illustrates an electronic docking connection 235 on thelower part of internal monitor drone 125. The electronic dockingconnection 235 is generally a type of connection for multiple electronicinterfaces between the internal monitor drone 125 and the internaldocking station 130. In one embodiment, as explained in more detail withrespect to FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, electronic docking connection 235provides a connection for electronic charging of the drone's onboardbattery and for wired data communications to and from the drone 125through connection 235. For example, when the internal monitor drone 125is in a secured position on internal docking station 130, the electronicdocking connection 235 may be mated with a complementary connection onthe docking station 130 so as to charge the drone 125, upload data tothe drone 125 (e.g., updated flight commands for onboard flight profiledata maintained in the drone's memory, updated loading plan data for anupcoming loading operation for aircraft 100, and the light), anddownload data from the drone 125 (e.g., gathered sensory informationstored as sensor data in the drone's memory).

Further to the explanation of components shown in FIG. 2 that make up anexemplary internal monitor drone 125, FIG. 3 presents further details inthe form of a block diagram illustration of different connectedelectronic and sensory components of an embodiment of an exemplaryinternal monitor drone 125. Referring now to FIG. 3, exemplary internalmonitor drone 125 includes an onboard controller (OBC) 300 (having oneor more processors and memory) at its core along with memory 315 (e.g.,volatile, non-volatile, or both depending on the configuration of theOBC 300). The OBC 300 interfaces or connects with motor controlcircuitry (such as electronic speed controllers 360 a, 360 b), guidancerelated circuitry (such as global positioning system (GPS) chip 350,inertial measurement unit (IMU) 355, and proximity sensors 215 a, 215b), dedicated docking circuitry (such as drone capture interface 370 andthe electronic docking connection 235), communication related circuitry(such as communication interface 365), payload electronics (such as theonboard sensor array 230), and an onboard power source that providespower for all of the onboard active electronics (such as onboard battery385). An embodiment of OBC 300 may interface or connect with suchcircuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timercircuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry,DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implement aninterface (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to thedifferent components disposed within internal monitor drone 125 (e.g.,mounted on different parts of airframe 200).

As part of the exemplary internal monitor drone 125, the OBC 300generally controls autonomous flying and docking of the drone 125 aswell as monitoring and data gathering tasks related to the shipmentstorage area 120 using sensory array 230. In some embodiments, OBC 300may be implemented with a single processor, multi-core processor, ormultiple processors and have different programs concurrently running tomanage and control the different autonomous flying/docking and internalmonitoring tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3,flight/docking control and monitoring operations may be divided betweenan onboard flight controller (OFC) 305 and an onboard monitoringprocessor (OMP) 310. In such an embodiment, OFC 305 and OMP 310 may haveaccess to the same memory, such as memory storage 315 or, alternatively,OBC 300 may be implemented with separate dedicated memories that areaccessible by each of OFC 305 and OMP 310. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that memory accessible by OFC 305 may have differentaccessibility and size requirements compared to memory accessible by OMP310 given the different memory demands for the differentresponsibilities. For example, memory accessible by OMP 310 may besignificantly large given the anticipated size of sensory informationgathered through sensory array 230 when compared to the size of memoryneeded for tasks performed by OFC 305. As will be explained further,each of OFC 305 and OMP 310 may include peripheral interface circuitrythat couples the processing element(s) to the different onboardperipheral circuitry, such as the GPS 350, inertial measurement unit355, the communication interface 365, the electronic speed controllers360 a, 360 b that control each lifting engine 210 a, 210 b, and thelike.

In general, the OFC 305 is a flight controller capable of autonomousflying of drone 125. Such autonomous flying may involve automatic takeoff, transiting an airborne monitoring path (e.g., via waypoint flying),and data communication or telemetry while airborne and while secured tothe docking station 130. For example, exemplary OFC 305 may beresponsible for generating flight control input to change the drone'sdesired flight profile by causing the lifting engines 210 a, 210 b tomove the internal monitor drone 125 from a secured position on theinternal docking station 130 to an initial airborne position within theshipment storage 110 and then move internal monitor drone 1255 from theinitial airborne position along the airborne monitoring path within theinterior shipment storage area 120 of the shipment storage 110. As such,the OFC 305 controls movement and flight stability of drone 125 whilenavigating and avoiding collisions during movement. In more detail, anembodiment of OFC 305 includes peripheral interface circuitry (not shownin FIG. 3, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may beimplemented with buffers, registers, buses, and other communication andcommand pathways) for interacting with guidance related circuitry, motorcontrol circuitry, dedicated docking circuitry, and communicationcircuitry onboard the internal monitor drone 125 as part of controllingmovement and flight stability of drone 125 while navigating and avoidingcollisions during movement. Examples of such an OFC 305 includemulti-rotor flight controllers from Turnigy, NAZA flight controllersfrom DJI, and Pixhawk flight controllers from 3D Robotics specificallydesigned for autonomous flying.

OFC 305 uses electronic speed controllers (ESC) 360 a, 360 b to controlrespective lifting engines 210 a, 210 b. Generally, an electronic speedcontroller varies the speed of a particular electronic motor (such asthe motor in lifting engine 210 a) as a type of throttle control. Inthis way, the OFC 305 provides flight control input as throttle controlto each of the different ESCs 360 a, 360 b in order to vary the speed ofthe lifting rotors 205 a, 205 b. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that having the OFC 305 generate flight control input thatchanges the power to all lifting engines 210 a, 201 b results in theinternal monitor drone 125 moving higher or lower, while other flightcontrol input for the ESCs may cause horizontal movement or changes inattitude for the internal monitor drone 125. An example of such an ESCmay be a Turnigy Multistar multi-rotor speed controller, however thoseskilled in the art will appreciate there are a variety of other modelsused depending on the current and current ranges required to drive therespective lifting engines.

For flight operations and navigation, OFC 305 may be implemented withintegrated global positioning system (GPS) onboard as well as anintegrated inertial measurement unit (IMU) (including one or moregyroscopes) onboard. The integrated GPS and IMU provide OFC 305 withcurrent position information in the form of a satellite-based locationand/or a relative location using the IMU based on a resettable positionfix. Alternatively, as shown in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3,the OFC 305 may be implemented by separately interfacing with externalguidance related circuitry, such as a GPS module/chip 350 (including aGPS compatible antenna), inertial measurement unit (IMU) 355, andproximity sensors 215 a, 215 b. The GPS unit 350 provides similarsatellite-based location information in the form of coordinates usableby OFC 305 for navigating the airborne monitoring path or a portionthereof. IMU 355 is a device that comprises at least a gyroscope andaccelerometer to measure acceleration and angle of tilt. As such, IMU355 may provide such measured positional information (e.g.,acceleration, attitude, orientation, and the like) to OFC 305 for use innavigating within internal shipment storage area 120. IMU 355 may alsohave its reference position reset via the current position informationprovided by GPS 350. Proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b sense the presenceof different targets in close relation to the drone's airframe 200 andprovide OFC 305 with detection telemetry as a positional warning as thedrone 125 is moved by OFC 305 via flight control commands and inputgenerated. In a further embodiment, proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b orother sensors in the sensor array 230 (such as a scanning sensor) maydetect reflective or otherwise known reference points as part ofnavigating the space within the shipment storage.

In one embodiment, the internal monitor drone 125 may use fixed landinggear 220 a, 220 b such that securing the drone 125 to the dockingstation 130 is accomplished by actuating movable structure (e.g.,clamps, pins, locking arms) on the internal docking station 130 to holdand secure the drone 125 in place via its fixed landing gear 220 a, 220b. In such an embodiment, landing gear 220 a, 220 b are considered partof the drone capture interface 370 that selectively mate to a physicaldocking interface of the internal docking station 130. However, inanother embodiment, the drone capture interface (DCI) 370 as shown inFIG. 3 may include selectively activated servos or actuators that move,rotate, and/or retract/extend the landing gear 220 a, 220 b in acontrolled manner. As such, the OFC 305 may generate commands (such as adocking command) to cause the DCI 370 to electronically and selectivelycause the landing gear 220 a, 220 b to mate to the physical dockinginterface of the internal docking station by moving, rotating, and/orretract/extend the landing gear 220 a, 220 b (such as shown in FIG. 4A).

The OBC 300 shown in FIG. 3 is also operatively coupled to severalcommunication circuits. In general, the OBC 300 is coupled to a wirelesscommunication interface 365 as well as a wired data interface 375 (aspart of electronic docking connection 235). The OBC 300 may sendmessages or information over one or both of the wireless communicationinterface 365 and the wired data interface 375. When the internalmonitor drone 125 is docked on docking station 130 and electronicdocking connection 235 is mated to another connection on docking station130, the wired data interface 375 may be connected to another wiredcommunication path and be useful for transmitting messages,downloading/uploading data (such as sensory data, new flight profiledata, or new loading plan data), or updating program files stored inmemory 315 of the OBC 300. When airborne, wireless communicationinterface 365 allows for similar over the air communications. Forexample, communication interface 365 may transmit a monitoring updatemessage in response to a transmission instruction from the OBC 300 whilemonitoring the internal shipment storage area 120 along an airbornemonitoring path. Such a monitoring update message may, for example, bereceived by the vehicle transceiver 135 operated by flight personnelassociated with aircraft 100. Additionally, the monitoring updatemessage may, in other embodiments, be received by wireless-enabledtransceivers outside of aircraft 100, such as one or more ofloading/unloading logistics personnel via radio-based transceivers (notshown), and/or vehicle maintenance personnel via similar types ofradio-based transceivers (not shown)). Depending upon the specificembodiment of OBC 300, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatsuch communication circuits (i.e., wireless communication interface 365and wired data interface 375) may be accessible by either or both of theOFC 305 or the OMP 310 depending on which of these processor devices aretasked with communication functionality.

An exemplary onboard monitor processor (OMP) 310 is generally considereda low power microprocessor or processor-based microcontroller that atleast receives sensory information from the sensory array 230 andautonomously detects the condition of an item being shipped within theinterior shipment storage area 120 based upon the received sensorinformation. OMP 310 may be deployed in an embodiment of internalmonitor drone 125 as a task-dedicated processor that executesoperational and application program code (e.g., operating system 320,monitoring program 325) and other program modules maintained in memory315 useful in monitoring the shipping items on aircraft 100 inaccordance with embodiments of the invention.

More specifically, operating system 320 may be loaded by OMP 310 uponpower up and provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling,executing of application program code (such as exemplary monitoringprogram 325), and controlling lower level circuitry (e.g., registers,buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OMP 310 thatinterface with other peripheral circuitry onboard internal monitor drone125 (such as the sensory array 230, proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b, theelectronic docking connection 235, GPS 350, IMU 355, ESC 360 a, 360 b,communication interface 365, and DCI 370).

During operation and once operating system 320 is loaded, monitoringprogram code 325 may be run as part of implementing an aerialdrone-based method for monitoring the internal storage contents ofshipment storage 110. Exemplary monitoring program code 325 is a set ofexecutable instructions in the form of one or more machine-readableprogram code modules or applications. The program code module(s) may beloaded and executed by OBC 300 (or at least the OMP 310) to adapt thedrone 125 into a specially adapted and configured aerial monitoringapparatus. This specially configured OBC 300 of drone 125, as describedin more detail herein as a part of an embodiment, implements operativeprocess steps and provides functionality that is unconventional,especially when the process steps are considered collectively as awhole. Such a specially adapted and configured drone 125 helps, as apart of an embodiment, to address and improve targeted and technicalmonitoring of the condition of shipping items during all phases oflogistics transport of such items as described in more detail below.

During operation, the OBC 300 (or at least the OMP 310) may accessand/or generate data maintained within memory 315, such as sensory data330, flight profile data 335, messaging data 340, and loading plan data345. In general, sensory data 330 comprises sensory information gatheredby different sensors (described above) on the sensory array 230 and maytake different forms depending on the type of sensor used and the typeof information gathered (e.g., numeric measurements of temperature orpressure, images, video, depth sensing measurements, etc.).

Flight profile data 335 comprises information that defines how theinternal monitor drone 125 is to be flying. This data may includenavigational data on an airborne monitoring path for the drone 125 totransit, as well as flight control setting information to use whengenerating flight control input for the ESCs 360 a, 360 b.

Messaging data 340 is generally a type of data used when the internalmonitor drone generates and/or transmits a notification or other type ofmessage related to the condition of one or more of the shipping items onaircraft 100. Such messaging data 340 may include information onmessages received or generated onboard to be sent outside the drone 125.

Loading plan data 345 provides information on what is expected to beloaded within the shipment storage 110 and may also include informationon what has actually been loaded and where such items are located withinthe internal shipment storage area 120.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above identificationof particular program code 325 and data 330-345 are not exhaustive andthat embodiments may include further executable program code or modulesas well as other data relevant to operations of a specially programmedprocessing-based internal monitor drone 125. Furthermore, those skilledin the art will appreciate that not all data elements illustrated inFIG. 3 as being within memory 315 must appear in memory 315 at the sametime.

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that OBC 300 (as wellas OFC 305 and/or OMP 310) may be implemented with a low power embeddedprocessor as part of a single-board computer having a system-on-chip(SoC) device operating at its core. In such an embodiment, the SoCdevice may include different types of memory (e.g., a removable memorycard slot, such as a Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as removable memory;flash memory operating as onboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAMmemory operating as onboard volatile memory); an operating system (suchas Linux) stored on the non-volatile memory storage and running involatile RAM memory; and peripherals that may implement any of the GPS350, IMU 355, ESC 360 a, 360 b, communication interface 365, DCI 370,wired data interface 375 and charging interface 380.

Additionally, the exemplary internal monitor drone 125 includes anonboard power source, such as onboard battery 385. Onboard battery 385provides electrical power to the active electric circuitry describedabove disposed on the internal monitor drone 125. Onboard battery 385may be charged via charging interface 380 (one part of the electronicdocking connection 235), which may be connected to an external powersupply via the internal docking station 130. Such an onboard battery 385may, for example, be implemented with a lightweight lithium-ion polymerbattery.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams providing further details of an exemplaryinternal docking station 130 as it interfaces with and supports aninternal monitor drone 125 in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring now to FIG. 4A, exemplary internal monitor drone125 is shown in a configuration and position relative to exemplaryinternal docking station 130 where the drone 125 is being secured to thedocking station 130. Exemplary internal docking station 130 is shown inFIG. 4A having a housing 400, a set of securing clamps 405 a, 405 bdisposed on the top of housing 400 as part of a physical dockinginterface that mates with the internal monitoring drone 125, and a wiredcommunication line 410 (which may also include a power line providingpower to the station 130.

As shown in FIG. 4A, exemplary landing gear 220 a, 220 b supports thedrone 125 when landing on internal docking station 130 and as at leasthelps to hold drone 125 secure relative to the docking station 130 viaexemplary securing clamps 405 a, 405 b. Such a secure configuration maybe achieved in one embodiment that may have fixed landing gear 220 a,220 b being grabbed and held securely by movable securing clamps 405 a,405 b. In another embodiment, the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b may befixed relative to the docking station 130 while the landing gear 220 a,220 b is moved to grab the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b. In still afurther embodiment, each of securing clamps 405 a, 405 b may bearticulated or actuated to grab a bottom portion of each landing gear220 a, 220 b while the landing gear 220 a, 220 b may also be articulatedor actuated to mate with the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b. Further, theelectronic docking connection 235 may be implemented so as to be anactuated connector that mates with a complementary connector on thedocking station 130.

FIG. 4B provides a block diagram of elements within the housing 400 ofan exemplary internal docking station 130. Referring now to FIG. 4B, aphysical docking interface 415 is disposed along the top surface of thehousing 400 to physically mate with parts of the internal monitor drone125, and includes at least the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b. While someembodiments may have the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b in a fixedarrangement relative to the housing 400, other embodiments may deploythe securing clamps 405 a, 405 b as being movable and capable of beingarticulated using actuators 420 a, 420 b under the control of physicaldocking interface (PDI) control 425. In this later embodiment, a dockingcommand may be received by the PDI control circuit 425 (e.g., a switchor relay) over wired communication line 410. In response to receivingthe docking command, the PDI control circuit 425 controls the actuators420 a, 420 b coupled to the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b. In analternate embodiment, the PDI control circuit 425 may have a wirelesslinear actuator control that allows for remote wireless control ofactuators 420 a, 420 b and, as a result, securing clamps 405 a, 405 b.For example, internal monitor drone 125 may rely on proximity sensors215 a, 215 b and send the docking command to PDI control circuit 425 viaa wireless message from communication interface 365.

Further still, an embodiment of internal docking station 130 includesits own communication interface 430 that mates with wired communicationline 410. Communication interface 410 is coupled to an electronic dataconnection interface (EDCI) 435, which connects to wired data interface375 when the internal monitor drone 125 is secured on the dockingstation 130 and when the electronic docking connection 235 is extendedto mate with at least the EDCI 435. Communication interface 430 on thedocking station 130 may include a compatible radio-based transceiver forwirelessly communicating with the communication interface 365 oninternal monitor drone 125. This allows the docking station 130 towireless communicate with the drone 125 without having the drone 125secured to the docking station 130. For example, using such wirelesscommunication functionality of interface 430 may allow the dockingstation 130 to act as a local base station for the internal monitordrone 125 and act as a communication intermediary with the vehicletransceiver 135 (e.g., when the drone 125 reports a detected conditionof a shipping item by wireless transmission from interface 365 to thedocking stations' wireless transceiver in interface 430, and thenforwarding of the relevant reported condition information to vehicletransceiver 135.

Additionally, the internal docking station 130 may use an onboard powersource 445, such as an AC/DC power supply or larger capacity batterythat can provide current through electronic charging connectioninterface (ECCI) 440 to charge onboard battery 385 when the drone 125 issecured to the docking station 130.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-basedmethod for monitoring the internal storage contents of a shipmentstorage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring nowto FIG. 5, exemplary method 500 begins at step 505 with an internalmonitor drone, such as internal monitor drone 125, receiving anactivation command while in a secured position on an internal dockingstation fixed to the shipment storage in a drone storage area of theshipment storage. The activation command may be in the form of awireless message received by the internal monitor drone from the dockingstation 130, the vehicle transceiver 135, or from a radio-basedtransceiver operated by logistics personnel involved in a logisticsoperation (such as loading or unloading the shipment storage).Alternatively, the activation command may be received in the form of atime-based command generated onboard the internal monitor drone where,for example, the internal monitor drone may be deployed to activate fromthe secured position periodically rather than stay airborne for alengthy duration. As noted with reference to FIGS. 1A-1C, the shipmentstorage may be implemented by a storage compartment within an aircraft(e.g., shipment storage 110 within aircraft 100), a trailer capable ofbeing moved by a truck, or a train car capable of being moved on arailway system. When the shipment storage is within an aircraft, theinternal storage contents may include one or more shipping items, suchas a unit load device (ULD) container. Such a ULD container may bebroadcast-enabled with a sensor-based radio transceiver that canbroadcast a signal (as detected by the internal monitor drone's sensorarray) without a preliminary interrogation of the ULD container toprompt broadcast of the signal. For example, rather than rely on an RFIDtag that must be polled or prompted in order to broadcast a signal, theULD container may be deployed with a sensor-based radio transceiver thatmay periodically broadcast signals having information within it thatpertains to a condition of the ULD container and its contents.

At step 510, method 500 continues with the internal monitor dronetransitioning from at least a low power state to an active monitoringstate as part of a logistics operation related to the shipment storage.Such a logistics operation related to the shipment storage may be aloading operation of the shipment storage area of the shipment storage;an unloading operation of the shipment storage area of the shipmentstorage; or an in-transit monitoring operation of the shipment storagearea of the shipment storage while the shipment storage is moving. Thelow power state may be a complete shut off condition where the internalmonitor drone is unpowered. In other embodiments, the low power statemay be a sleep type of state where some circuitry is off (e.g., liftingengines 210 a, 210 b, etc.) while another subset of the onboardcircuitry remains powered on (e.g., GPS 350 and IMU 355 to help avoiddelays prior to lift off from the docking station 130). Whentransitioning to the active monitoring state, where the internal monitordrone will be ready for airborne sensor activities along an airbornemonitoring path within the shipment storage, the internal monitor droneprepares to separate from the internal docking station. For example, asshown in FIG. 1B, internal monitor drone (IMD) 125 transitions to theactive monitoring state from the low power state in preparation forflying above the shipping items 140 a-145 e within the internal shipmentstorage area 120.

At step 515, method 500 proceeds with the internal monitor droneautomatically uncoupling from the internal docking station once theinternal monitor drone transitions to the active monitoring state. Forexample, internal monitor drone 125 may automatically uncouple from theinternal docking station 130, as depicted and described with respect toFIGS. 1C and 4A. In this embodiment, the drone's landing gear 220 a, 220b separates from being mated with the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b ofthe docking station 130 to accomplish such automatic uncoupling. Thismay be implemented by articulating the landing gear 220 a, 220 b,articulating the securing clamps 405 a, 405 b, or both depending on thecomplexity of the internal monitor drone, docking station, andanticipated vibrational environment within the drone storage area 115(which may warrant articulating both the securing structure on the drone125 and the docking station 130).

At step 520, method 500 continues with the internal monitor drone movingfrom the secured position on the internal docking station to an initialairborne position within the shipment storage. For example, internalmonitor drone 125 is shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C moving to an initialairborne position. Such a position may be just above the docking station130 and still within drone storage area 115 or, may be at a firstwaypoint or location along an airborne monitoring path within theinternal shipment storage area 120 of aircraft 100.

At step 525, method 500 continues with the internal monitor dronedeploying its sensor array to gather sensory information as the internalmonitor drone flies/moves from the initial airborne position along anairborne monitoring path within a shipment storage area of the shipmentstorage. The gathered sensory information is provided from the sensorarray to an onboard processor on the internal monitor drone, such as theOBC 300 or OMP 310, where it may be processed, reviewed, and analyzedonboard the internal monitor drone as part of detecting a condition ofthe contents of the shipment storage area.

In one embodiment, the gathered sensory information may beidentification-related information involving barcodes, signs, and/orlabels related to different contents within the shipment storage (e.g.,different shipping items 140 a-145 e). For example, step 525 mayimplement gathering the sensory information by using a scanning sensorelement of the sensor array to scan an identification symbol fixed to anitem of the internal storage contents as the internal monitor dronetransits the airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. Forexample, as IMD 125 shown in FIG. 1C transits an airborne path above ornear shipping item 140 b, a scanning sensor element of sensor array 230may scan an identification symbol on the top or side of shipping item140 b. Such an identification symbol may be a barcode symbol identifyingshipping information related to shipping item 140 b (e.g., recipient,destination address, tracking number, shipment loading information,weight, and the like). In another example, the identification symbol maybe a sign (such as a shipping label) affixed to the shipping item wherethe sign identifies the shipment information related to the item (suchas loading information on placement of the item when being shippedwithin the shipment storage).

At step 530, method 500 has the onboard processor on the internalmonitor drone autonomously detecting a condition of the internal storagecontents (e.g., at least one item being shipped within the internalshipment storage) based upon the sensory information provided by thesensor array. For example, when the sensory array gathers environmentalinformation in step 525 relative to different airborne locations (e.g.,particular waypoints, locations near particular shipping items, orlocations near groups of shipping items maintained within the shipmentstorage) while transiting the airborne monitoring path within theshipment storage, the internal monitor drone's onboard processor mayautomatically identify an environmental condition as the condition ofthe internal storage contents in step 530.

Different types of environmental conditions may be automaticallyidentified depending on the type of sensing element used within anembodiment of the internal monitor drone's sensor array. For example,the environmental condition identified may be a movement condition assensed by a motion sensor element of the sensor array; a light conditionas sensed by a light sensor element of the sensor array; a soundcondition as sensed by a microphone element of the sensor array; atemperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensor element of thesensor array; a smoke condition as sensed by a smoke sensor element ofthe sensor array; a humidity condition as sensed by a moisture sensorelement of the sensor array; and a pressure condition as sensed by apressure sensor element of the sensor array. In other words, the sensorarray deployed on the internal monitor drone implementing method 500 mayinclude one or a wide variety of different types of sensors used toidentify different environmental conditions relative to one or moreitems being shipped within the shipment storage (such as shipping items140 a-145 e within internal shipment storage area 120).

Further embodiments may use multiple types of sensor-based environmentalinformation as part of automatically identifying the environmentalcondition as the condition of the internal storage contents in step 530.For example, using a smoke sensor, a light sensor, and a temperaturesensor in the sensor array may allow the onboard processor toautomatically identify a fire condition relative to a particularshipping item. In another example, using a moisture sensor and amicrophone in the sensory array may allow the onboard processor toautomatically identify a breakage/leak condition relative to aparticular shipping item. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe onboard processor of the internal monitoring drone may crossreference the gathered environmental information against parameters thatfit different types of environmental conditions as a way ofautomatically identifying the environmental condition based on one ormore types of environmental information gathered through one or moresensing elements of the sensor array. This may involve a multi-variatetable lookup in a simpler internal monitoring drone implementation or,in another embodiment, may involve having monitoring program 325including a database for matching the gathered environmental informationto different environmental conditions as part of automaticallyidentifying the environmental condition in step 530.

In another embodiment, method 500 may have the sensory information anddetected condition related to captured images and detection of aconfiguration change of what is maintained within the shipment storage.More specifically, a further embodiment of method 500 may implement thegathering step 525 as using an image sensor as an element of the sensorarray to capture different images of the internal storage contents fromone or more airborne locations within the shipment storage as theinternal monitor drone transits the airborne monitoring path within theshipment storage. As such, the autonomously detecting step 530 may thenbe implemented by automatically identifying a configuration change asthe condition of the internal storage contents. The configuration changemay be automatically identified by the onboard processor of the internalmonitor drone based upon a comparison of at least two of the capturedimages. For example, the captured different images may include one ormore images of a portion of the internal storage contents from the sameairborne location at different times as the internal monitor dronerepeatedly transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipmentstorage. In doing so, the internal monitor drone captures what may be atime sequence of images related to the same item or items being shippedwithin the shipment storage or a sequence of images over time of thesame item or items from more than one perspective (e.g., images of a topof a shipping item 140 a and a side of the shipping item 140 a overtime). Using such a sequence of images, the onboard controller of theinternal monitor drone may image process the different images to findwhat has changed relative to what should be the same image of the sameitem or items. If shipping item 140 a unintentionally moves duringflight, this comparison of images allows the internal monitor drone'sonboard controller (such as the OMP 310) to automatically identify aconfiguration change relative to item 140 a given its movement.Likewise, if shipping item 145 d is unintentionally crushed due to theweight of item 145 b, this comparison of images allows the internalmonitor drone's onboard controller (such as the OMP 310) toautomatically identify a configuration change relative to item 145 dgiven its damaged exterior.

In still another embodiment, method 500 may have the sensory informationand detected condition related to depth sensor information andmulti-dimensional mappings of what is maintained within the shipmentstorage. More specifically, a further embodiment of method 500 mayimplement the gathering step 525 using a depth sensor as an element ofthe sensor array to map a configuration of the shipment storage area ofthe shipment storage as the internal monitor drone transits the airbornemonitoring path within the shipment storage. The mapped configuration ofthe shipment storage area is, in more detail, a multi-dimensionalmapping of the internal storage contents of the shipment storage. Forexample, internal monitor drone 125 may fly within the internal shipmentstorage area 120 and use a depth sensor as part of sensor array 230 tomap this area 120 and the shipping items 140 a-145 e maintained withinit. As such, the autonomously detecting step 530 may then be implementedby automatically identifying a change in the multi-dimensional mappingof the internal storage contents over time as the internal monitor dronerepeatedly transits the airborne monitoring path within the shipmentstorage to be the autonomously detected condition of the internalstorage contents. Thus, the autonomously detected condition may reflecta shift in location for some of the contents (such as after experiencingturbulence during in-flight monitoring), or may reflect a loading statusfor what has been loaded within or unloaded from the shipment storage(such as during loading or unloading logistics operations of aircraft100).

In an embodiment where one or more of the internal storage contents ofthe shipment storage include broadcast enabled shipping items (e.g.,items 145 c-145 e), a further embodiment of method 500 may have thegathering step 525 implemented by receiving a wireless signal broadcastfrom a broadcast-enabled package of the internal storage contents andthen proceed as part of step 530 to automatically identifying thecondition of the internal storage contents based upon the receivedwireless signal broadcast from the broadcast-enabled package. Thiswireless signal may be received by a radio-based receiver operating asat least part of the sensor array. In some implementations, theradio-based receiver part of the sensor array may operate as an RFID tagreader where it first interrogates the broad-enabled package in order toprompt the broadcast of such a wireless signal. However, in otherimplementations, the radio-based receiver part of the sensor array mayreceive the wireless signal without interrogating the broadcast-enabledpackage to prompt the broadcast of the wireless signal and merely be alistening type of radio-based receiver element of the sensor array.

At step 535, an embodiment of method 500 may have the onboard processorof the internal monitor drone transmitting a monitoring update messageindicating the autonomously detected condition of the internal storagecontents. In more detail, the transmitted monitoring update message maybe transmitted to a wireless receiver on the internal docking station(e.g., the wireless part of communication interface 430 as describedabove), which then may pass along the message to another transceiver(e.g., vehicle transceiver 135 operated by flight crew personnel, or aradio-based receiver operated by maintenance personnel assigned to theaircraft 100 or logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloadingthe aircraft 100). Alternatively, the transmitted monitoring updatemessage may be wirelessly sent directly at least one of the vehicletransceiver 135 operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-basedreceiver operated by maintenance personnel assigned to the aircraft 100or logistics personnel responsible for loading/unloading the aircraft100.

In a further embodiment of step 535, any such transmission of themonitoring update message may be delayed and transmitted at a latertime. In particular, the onboard processor of the internal monitor dronemay opt to transmit the monitoring update message to a shipment storagetransceiver (e.g., vehicular transceiver 135 or a radio-based receiveroperated by personnel that load/unload the shipment storage or performmaintenance on the aircraft having the shipment storage) only if theonboard processor autonomously confirms a communication channel to theshipment storage transceiver is active. This may be accomplished byscanning for such a transceiver and receiving a wireless signalindicating that the transceiver is active and able to receivetransmissions from another device, such as the internal monitor drone.If the onboard processor cannot confirm the communication channel isactive, the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone may storethe monitoring update message for later transmission to the shipmentstorage transceiver. Such a delay may be useful when the internalmonitor drone is transiting a distant part of the airborne monitor paththat may be outside the acceptable reception range of vehiculartransceiver 135 or a radio-based receiver operated by personnel thatload/unload the shipment storage or perform maintenance on the aircrafthaving the shipment storage. For example, the internal monitor drone maydelay transmission of the monitoring update message to a radio-basedreceiver operated by logistics personnel loading the shipment storagefor when the personnel are back within the shipment storage attemptingto load another item. Such a delayed message helps avoid missed messagesand enhances how the shipment storage is being loaded so that quickercorrective actions may be initiated and completed.

Steps 540-550 of method 500 involve monitoring for a loading planinconsistency while steps 555-565 involve monitoring for an orientationinconsistency for logistics operations related to the shipment storage.In more detail, an embodiment of method 500 may continue at step 540 tohave the onboard processor of the internal monitor drone autonomouslydetermining a loading status of the item by comparing the item'sidentification symbol (as scanned by the scanning sensor of the sensorarray) to a loading plan for the shipment storage maintained within amemory of the internal monitor drone. Such a loading plan (e.g., loadingplan data 345) may have been preloaded into the internal monitor drone'smemory, or alternatively, method 500 may include the step of downloadingthe loading plan into the memory of the internal monitor drone. In suchan embodiment, downloading the relevant loading plan for what issupposed to be loaded and carried within the shipment storage may takeplace prior to or right after scanning the item's identification symbol.In this way, the internal monitor drone has a current and up-to-dateloading plan and can reference such information to the scannedidentification symbol in step 545 to detect a loading plan inconsistency(e.g., a loading status for the item showing it is loaded within theshipment storage but should not be according to the loading plan). Thus,at step 545, method 500 may proceed directly to step 555 if there is noinconsistency detected. However, if method 500 detects a loading planinconsistency at step 545 (i.e., when the loading status of the itemindicates the presence of the item within the shipment storage area ofthe shipment storage is inconsistent with the loading plan), method 500proceeds to step 550 where the onboard processor of the internal monitordrone automatically transmits a loading warning.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1C, exemplary internal monitor drone 125may have a scanning sensor within sensory array 230 and use that tocapture an identification symbol (e.g., a barcode symbol or the like)from shipping item 140 b while transiting an airborne monitoring pathwithin internal shipment storage area 120. The internal monitor drone125 may then compare the captured identification symbol for shippingitem 140 b with the loading plan data 345 kept in memory 315 to identifyor detect that item 140 b should not be present within internal shipmentstorage area 120. This may occur when loading personnel mistakenly loaditem 140 b thinking it actually belongs on aircraft 100, or when loadingpersonnel mistakenly load item 140 b on aircraft 100 accidentlybelieving aircraft 100 was another aircraft. A further embodiment mayhave separate loading plans for separate internal shipment storage areaswhen such is available on another delivery vehicle, and unintendedloading into an incorrect one of the different storage areas may be moreprevalent.

Like the transmitted monitoring update message from step 535, anembodiment of method 500 may transmit the loading warning to a wirelessreceiver on the internal docking station (e.g., the wireless part ofcommunication interface 430 as described above), which then may passalong the message to another transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver 135operated by flight crew personnel, or a radio-based receiver operated bylogistics personnel responsible for loading the aircraft 100).Alternatively, the transmitted loading warning may be wirelessly sentdirectly at least one of the vehicle transceiver 135 operated by flightcrew personnel, or the radio-based receiver operated by logisticspersonnel responsible for loading the aircraft 100. In such a manner, anembodiment may rapidly detect a loading plan inconsistency and allow forfaster resolution of this issue—especially while the loading operationis still ongoing and correction can be prompted automatically inresponse to the transmitted loading warning. Method 500 then proceedsfrom step 550 to step 555.

As stated above, steps 555-565 generally involve monitoring for anorientation inconsistency for logistics operations related to theshipment storage. In particular, at step 555, an embodiment of method500 continues with the onboard processor of the internal monitor droneautonomously determining a position status of a shipping item based uponitem's identification symbol as scanned by the sensor array (e.g., abarcode reader or image sensor that captures information on theidentification symbol). In this embodiment, the identification symbolscanned may include a directional sign, image, or symbol indicating adesired item orientation (e.g., a graphic image denoting a desiredorientation, such as which surface should be facing up, and the like).Here, the position status of the item relies on such orientation-relatedinformation on the identification symbol and the current orientation ofthe item as scanned to reflect whether the current orientation of theidentification symbol as scanned is inconsistent with the desired itemorientation.

Thus, at step 560, method 500 may proceed directly to step 570 if thereis no inconsistency detected relative to the orientation of the shippingitem. However, if method 500 detects an orientation inconsistency forthe item at step 560 (i.e., when the current orientation of the item isdifferent from the desired orientation per the scanned information),method 500 proceeds to step 565 where the onboard processor of theinternal monitor drone automatically transmits a positional warning.

Like the transmitted monitoring update message from step 535 and theloading warning in step 550, an embodiment of method 500 may transmitthe positional warning to a wireless receiver on the internal dockingstation (e.g., the wireless part of communication interface 430 asdescribed above), which then may pass along the message to anothertransceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver 135 operated by flight crewpersonnel, or a radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnelresponsible for loading the aircraft 100). Alternatively, thetransmitted positional warning may be wirelessly sent directly at leastone of the vehicle transceiver 135 operated by flight crew personnel, orthe radio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible forloading/unloading the aircraft 100. In such a manner, an embodiment mayrapidly detect that one or more shipping items placed within theinterior shipment storage area are not placed correctly (which may causedamage—especially if not corrected before the shipment storage moves(e.g., the aircraft 100 takes off, flies, and experiences vibrations andturbulence in-flight).

Method 500 then proceeds from step 565 to step 570 where the internalmonitor drone moves to the next airborne position on the airbornemonitoring path. Method 500 then proceeds back to step 525 to continueaerial drone-based monitoring of the internal storage contents of theshipment storage.

In some embodiments, the internal monitor drone may transit the airbornemonitoring path once and then autonomously land back on the internaldocking station (where it may recharge, download sensory informationgathered, and upload revised flight profile data). In other embodiments,the internal monitor drone may transit the airborne monitoring pathmultiple times and then autonomously land back on the internal dockingstation. The complexity and length of the airborne monitoring path aswell as the weight of the internal monitor drone (with its onboard suiteof sensors in the sensory array) will impact a time aloft factor thatimpacts airborne monitoring operations of the internal monitor drone.

In still other embodiments, the internal monitor drone may operate asexplained with respect method 500, and then further receive a follow-upmonitor command. The follow-up monitor command causes the internalmonitor drone to return to at least a particular airborne position inthe monitoring path and gather further sensory information using thesensor array. The further sensory information may be enhanced sensoryinformation to gather additional details, such as additional sensoryinformation taken in higher resolution, taken over a longer time period,taken with more than one sensing element of the sensor array, and/ortaken from a broader range of perspectives relative to one or moreshipping items. In a more specific embodiment, the internal monitordrone may receive such a follow-up monitor command as feedback from thevehicle transceiver 135 operated by flight crew personnel, theradio-based receiver operated by logistics personnel responsible forloading/unloading the aircraft 100, or the radio-based receiver operatedby maintenance personnel responsible for servicing the aircraft 100.Such feedback may be in response to a monitoring update message, aloading warning, or a positional warning where the broadcaster of thefollow-up message may desire more sensory information before taken anycorrective action (e.g., having personnel enter the internal shipmentstorage area 120 to physically inspect one of the shipping items 140a-145 e, rearrange placement of such an item, or remove such an item).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 500 as disclosedand explained above in various embodiments may be implemented with anapparatus, such as exemplary internal monitor drone 125, running anembodiment of airborne monitoring program code 325, and as a part of adrone-based monitored storage system including the shipment storage,docking station, and internal monitor drone. Such code 325 may be storedon a non-transitory computer-readable medium such as memory storage 315on internal monitor drone 125. Thus, when executing code 325, the OBC300 (or OMP 310) of internal monitor drone 125 (in cooperation withother circuitry onboard the drone 125, such as elements of the sensorarray 230) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps fromthe exemplary methods disclosed above, including method 500 andvariations of that method.

FIG. 1C, as discussed above, illustrates a general example of such adrone-based monitored storage system that relies on a single internalmonitor drone. However, other embodiments may deploy multiple internalmonitor drones to monitor a shipment storage, such as shipment storage110. Using multiple internal monitor drones to monitor a shipmentstorage may enhance monitoring of the shipment storage, for example, byallowing for divided monitoring responsibilities, allowing the differentinternal monitor drones to use different types of sensors in theirrespective sensor arrays, and employ a more robust level of monitoringin a given time within the shipment storage. By deploying a swarm ofinternal monitor drones to monitor the shipment storage, the task ofmonitoring what is maintained in the shipment storage is coordinated andaccomplished in a much quicker way.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an exemplary multiple drone-based monitoredstorage system that includes shipment storage 110, two internal dockingstations 630 a, 630 b, and two internal monitor drones 625 a, 625 b.Referring now to FIG. 6, exemplary shipment storage 110 is similar tothat described with respect to FIGS. 1A-1C in that it includes aclosable entry similar to entry 112 shown in FIG. 1A that providesaccess to within the shipment storage, and an interior shipment storagearea 120 within shipment storage 110 that temporarily maintains custodyof items being shipped (e.g., shipping items 140 a, 140 b, and 145 b-145e). The shipment storage 110 further includes multiple drone storageareas as part of area 115 (e.g., different parts of drone storage area115 where two internal docking stations 630 a, 630 b are respectivelydisposed). In other words, each of the internal docking stations 630 a,630 b are fixed within respectively different areas or part of dronestorage area 115. The internal monitor drones 625 a, 625 b are initiallydisposed on respective ones of the internal docking stations 630 a, 630b. Each of the internal monitor drones 625 a, 625 b has a sensor arraythat gathers sensory information as the respective internal monitordrone moves within a part of the interior shipment storage area of theshipment storage. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the sensorarray in one internal monitor drone may be equipped with similar sensingelements as the sensor array in the other internal monitor drone.However, in other embodiments, the different sensor arrays in thedifferent internal monitor drones may include sensor elements that donot entirely overlap. For example, exemplary internal monitor drone 625a may include a suite of sensors in its sensor array that includes ascanning sensor or image sensor capable of capturing identificationinformation from labels, signs, or barcodes on the exterior of shippingitems 140 a, 140 b while exemplary internal monitor drone 625 b maydeploy with a different suite of sensors in its array better suited tomonitor broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 b-145 e (where somesurfaces of items 145 b-145 e are not visible or scannable).

As deployed as part of such an exemplary multiple drone-based monitoredstorage system, one of the internal monitor drones (e.g., drone 625 a)may operate as part of the system to move from one of the internaldocking stations (e.g., docking station 630 a) to a first initialairborne position within the shipment storage as part of a firstairborne monitoring path within a first part of the interior shipmentstorage area of the shipment storage (e.g., an airborne monitoring paththat takes drone 625 a over items 140 a and 140 b). At this firstinitial airborne position, this first internal monitor drone aeriallymonitors a first part of the items being shipped within the interiorshipment storage area using the sensor array on the first of theinternal monitor drones. As such, this first internal monitor dronebegins aerial monitoring of items at the first initial airborne positionand as the drone transits the first airborne monitoring path from thefirst initial airborne position. A second of the internal monitor drones(e.g., drone 625 b) may operate as part of the system to move from oneof the internal docking stations (e.g., docking station 630 b) to asecond initial airborne position within the shipment storage as part ofa second airborne monitoring path within a second part of the interiorshipment storage area of the shipment storage (e.g., a second airbornemonitoring path that takes drone 625 b over items 145 b-145 e). At thissecond initial airborne position, the second internal monitor droneaerially monitors the second part of the items being shipped within theinterior shipment storage area using the sensor array on the second ofthe internal monitor drones.

As the different internal monitor drones are using their respectivesensory arrays to gather sensory information and monitor the first partof the items being shipped and the second part of the items beingshipped, at least one of the first and second internal monitor dronesautonomously detects a condition of an item being shipped based uponsensory information generated when monitoring the items being shippedwithin the interior shipment storage area by the first of the internalmonitor drones and the second of the internal monitor drones. Such acondition may generally be related to the sensory information gatheredby one or both internal monitor drones, or may be related how suchsensory information gathered is beyond a threshold or range ofacceptable values. The types of sensors that may be deployed on therespective first and second internal monitor drones are similar to thosediscussed above as being part of exemplary sensor array 230 and thosethat may be used as part of embodiments of method 500.

Likewise, one or more of the internal monitor drones may be operative toautonomously determine a loading status for an item being monitoredrelative to a loading plan for that drone's monitored part of theinternal shipment storage and to automatically transmit a loadingwarning when the loading status of the item indicates the item'spresence within the interior shipment storage area of the shipmentstorage is inconsistent with that particular loading plan used by thatinternal monitor drone (similar to steps 540-550 of method 500).Additionally, one or more of the internal monitor drones may beoperative to autonomously determine a position status for an item beingmonitored. That internal monitor drone may determine the position statusof the item based upon an identification symbol as scanned by thatmonitor drone's scanning sensor (where the identification symbolcomprises a directional sign indicating a desired item orientation forthe one item and where the position status of the item reflects whethera current orientation of the identification symbol as scanned isinconsistent with the desired item orientation) and then automaticallytransmit a positional warning when the position status indicates thecurrent orientation of the identification symbol is inconsistent withthe desired item orientation (similar to steps 555-565 of method 500).

Explaining how such a system may operate in more detail, FIG. 7 is aflow diagram illustrating an exemplary multiple aerial drone-basedmethod for monitoring the internal storage contents of a shipmentstorage in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Such ashipment storage may, for example, be implemented by a storagecompartment within an aircraft, a trailer capable of being moved by atruck, a storage or cargo compartment of a marine vessel, or a train carcapable of being moved on a railway system. Referring now to FIG. 7,exemplary method 700 begins at step 705 by moving a first internalmonitor drone to a first initial airborne position within the shipmentstorage as part of a first airborne monitoring path within the shipmentstorage. The first internal monitor drone (e.g., drone 625 a shown inFIG. 6) is disposed within a first drone storage area of the shipmentstorage (e.g., a first part of drone storage area 115 where internaldocking station 630 a is located). In more detail, an embodiment of step705 may have the first internal monitor drone being selectivelyuncoupled from a first internal docking station (e.g., internal dockingstation 630 a) disposed at a fixed location within the first dronestorage area of the shipment storage prior to moving the first internalmonitor drone from its secured position on the first internal dockingstation to its initial airborne position of the first airbornemonitoring path.

In one embodiment, the first airborne monitoring path used by the firstinternal monitor drone in this embodiment corresponds to a first part ofan interior shipment storage area within the shipment storage. However,in other embodiments, the different internal monitor drones may havedifferent monitoring paths that overlap or transit through overlappingor coexistent parts of the internal shipment storage area (but thatwould not have one of the drones being at a location too close toanother drone at the same time).

At step 710, method 700 continues by moving a second internal monitordrone to an initial airborne position for that drone within the shipmentstorage as part of a second airborne monitoring path within the shipmentstorage. The second internal monitor drone (e.g., drone 625 b shown inFIG. 6) is disposed within a second drone storage area of the shipmentstorage (e.g., a second part of drone storage area 115 where internaldocking station 630 b is located). In more detail, an embodiment of step710 may have the second internal monitor drone being selectivelyuncoupled from a second internal docking station (e.g., internal dockingstation 630 b) disposed at a fixed location within the second dronestorage area of the shipment storage prior to moving the second internalmonitor drone from its secured position on the second internal dockingstation to its initial airborne position of the second airbornemonitoring path. As such, steps 705 and 710 have the first and secondinternal monitoring drones airborne and ready to begin gathering sensoryinformation as part of aerially monitoring the internal contents of theshipment storage.

At steps 715 and 720, the different internal monitor drones are deployedto aerially gather different sensory information related to what isloaded and maintained within the shipment storage. In particular, method700 proceeds at step 715 with aerially monitoring a first part of theinternal storage contents of the shipment storage with a first sensorarray on the first internal monitor drone as the first internal monitordrone transits the first airborne monitoring path within the shipmentstorage from the first initial airborne position. This aeriallymonitoring action may take the form or be implemented with the firstsensor array sensing environmental information relative to one or moreairborne locations within the shipment storage as the first internalmonitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within theshipment storage.

Similarly, at step 720, method 700 proceeds with aerially monitoring asecond part of the internal storage contents of the shipment storagewith a second sensor array on the second internal monitor drone as thesecond internal monitor drone transits the second airborne monitoringpath within the shipment storage from the second initial airborneposition. And like step 715, the aerial monitoring in step 720 may beimplemented with the second sensor array sensing environmentalinformation as the second sensory information relative to one or moreairborne locations within the shipment storage as the second internalmonitor drone transits the second airborne monitoring path within theshipment storage.

An embodiment of method 700 may continue to step 725 where method 700may take action based upon the sensory information gathered by thedifferent internal monitor drones. In particular, at step 725, method700 may proceed by determining if any of the sensory informationgathered by the first and second internal monitor drones is out of rangeor beyond what may be anticipated for the items maintained within theshipment storage. For example, the sensory data maintained within eachof the first and second internal monitory drones may includerange/threshold data (e.g., range/threshold information maintained aspart of sensory data 330 in drones 625 a and 625 b). Suchrange/threshold data may define expected sensor value ranges or sensorvalue thresholds relevant to the sensor elements that make up thedrones' respective sensor array. For example, such range/threshold datamay be specific to temperature and light conditions anticipated to beexperienced relative to the items in the respective parts of internalshipment storage area 120 monitored by each of internal monitor drone625 a and internal monitor drone 625 b. Further examples of what may beconsidered out of range in step 725 may, in some embodiments, extend toinconsistencies with loading plan data (e.g., the gathered sensorinformation includes identification information on a shipping item thatshould be present within that part of the internal shipment storage areaand, thus, reflects an out of range situation relative to the loadingplan data for that part of the internal shipment storage area).Likewise, what may be considered out of range in step 725 may, in someembodiments, extend to inconsistencies with item orientations. Forexample, sensory information gathered by a first of the internal monitordrones 625 a may include an image of a sign denoting a desiredorientation for a particular shipping item. When comparing theorientation of that image to the current orientation of the item, suchgathered sign information (as gathered sensory information) may indicatean out of range situation between the current orientation and thedesired orientation. The particular item may have been loadedincorrectly, shifted while the aircraft 100 taxied for takeoff, duringtakeoff, during airborne flight (such as after experiencing turbulence),or upon landing. Thus, if the sensory information gathered by the firstand second internal monitor drones is not out of range, method 700continues from step 725 to step 730 where the first and second internalmonitor drones may further transit and aerially monitor their respectiveparts of the internal storage contents along their respective airbornemonitor paths. Otherwise, step 725 proceeds directly to step 735 wheremethod 700 detects a condition of the internal storage contents basedupon at least one of (1) first sensory information generated whenmonitoring with the first sensor array of the first internal monitordrone and (2) second sensory information generated when monitoring withthe second sensor array of the second internal monitor drone.

In one embodiment of method 700, detecting the condition of the internalstorage contents in step 735 may be accomplished by automaticallyidentifying an environmental condition as the condition of the internalstorage contents based upon at least one of environmental informationgathered by the first internal monitor drone and environmentalinformation gathered by the second internal monitor drone. As previouslyexplained, different types of environmental conditions may beautomatically identified depending on the type of sensing element usedwithin the particular internal monitor drone's sensor array. Forexample, the environmental condition identified may be a movementcondition as sensed by a motion sensor element of the sensor array onthe first or second internal monitor drone; a light condition as sensedby a light sensor element of the sensor array on the first or secondinternal monitor drone; a sound condition as sensed by a microphoneelement of the sensor array on the first or second internal monitordrone; a temperature condition as sensed by a temperature sensor elementof the sensor array on the first or second internal monitor drone; asmoke condition as sensed by a smoke sensor element of the sensor arrayon the first or second internal monitor drone; a humidity condition assensed by a moisture sensor element of the sensor array on the first orsecond internal monitor drone; and a pressure condition as sensed by apressure sensor element of the sensor array on the first or secondinternal monitor drone. In other words, the respective sensor arraysdeployed on the different internal monitor drones implementing method700 may include one or a wide variety of different types of sensors usedto identify different environmental conditions relative to one or moreitems being shipped within the shipment storage (such as shipping items140 a-145 e within internal shipment storage area 120). And furtherembodiments may use multiple types of sensor-based environmentalinformation as part of automatically identifying the environmentalcondition by one or the first or second internal monitor drones as thecondition of the internal storage contents in step 735.

After step 735, method 700 may transmit a monitoring update message to ashipment storage transceiver, such as vehicle transceiver 135, in step740. Such a monitoring update message indicates the detected conditionof the internal storage contents and is transmitted either by the firstinternal monitor drone when the detected condition is based upon thefirst sensory information, or by the second internal monitor drone whenthe detected condition is based upon the second sensory information.

Similar to that disclosed relative to method 500, a further embodimentof method 700 may also include steps that verify proper loading of theshipment storage using one or more of the multiple internal monitordrones. For example, the first internal monitor drone may determine aloading status of a first monitored shipping item based upon comparingan identification symbol as scanned by the first internal monitor droneto a downloaded loading plan for the shipment storage maintained withinmemory of the first internal monitor drone. The first internal monitordrone may then generate a first loading warning when the loading statusof this first item indicates the presence of the first item within theshipment storage is inconsistent with the loading plan, and transmit thefirst loading warning to a shipment storage transceiver (such as vehicletransceiver 135). Likewise, the second internal monitor drone maydetermine a loading status of a second monitored shipping item basedupon comparing the second identification symbol as scanned by the secondinternal monitor drone to the loading plan for the shipment storagemaintained within memory of the second internal monitor drone. Thesecond internal monitor drone may then generate a second loading warningwhen the loading status of the second item indicates that the presenceof the second item within the shipment storage is inconsistent with theloading plan, and transmit the second loading warning to a shipmentstorage transceiver (such as vehicle transceiver 135).

And similar to that disclosed relative to method 500, a furtherembodiment of method 700 may also include steps that verify properpositioning of items within the shipment storage using one or more ofthe multiple internal monitor drones. For example, the first internalmonitor drone may determine a position status of a first shipping itembased upon the first identification symbol as scanned by the firstinternal monitor drone. This first identification symbol includes atleast a first directional sign indicating a desired item orientation forthe first item, and the position status of the first item reflectswhether a current orientation of the first item is inconsistent with thedesired item orientation as reflected by the identification symbol'sdirectional sign. The first monitor drone then generates a firstpositional warning when the position status of the first item indicatesthe current orientation of the first item is inconsistent with thedesired item orientation for the first item, and then transmits thefirst positional warning to a shipment storage transceiver (such as thevehicle transceiver 135). Additionally, the second internal monitordrone may determine a position status of a second item based upon asecond identification symbol as scanned by the second internal monitordrone. The second identification symbol includes a second directionalsign indicating a desired item orientation for the second item, and theposition status of the second item reflects whether a currentorientation of the second item is inconsistent with the desired itemorientation for the second item. The second internal monitor drone thengenerates a second positional warning when the position status of thesecond item indicates the current orientation of the second item isinconsistent with the desired item orientation for the second item, andtransmits the second positional warning to the shipment storagetransceiver (such as vehicle transceiver 135). With such loading and/orpositional warnings, the shipment storage transceiver may respond aspart of an embodiment of such a multiple internal monitor drone systemto notify logistics radio-based transceivers operated by loadingpersonnel that can then address the loading or positional related issueunderlying such warnings.

In steps 715 and 720 of method 700, the aerial monitoring may be morespecifically implemented using further types of sensor elements. Forexample, in a further embodiment of method 700, aerially monitoring thefirst part of the internal storage contents with the first sensor arrayin step 715 may involve capturing, with a first image sensor part of thefirst sensor array, at least one image of the first part of the internalstorage contents from each of a first plurality of airborne locationswithin the shipment storage as the first internal monitor drone transitsthe first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. In likefashion, aerially monitoring the second part of the internal storagecontents with the second sensor array in step 720 may involve capturing,with a second image sensor part of the second sensor array, at least oneimage of the second part of the internal storage contents from each of asecond plurality of airborne locations within the shipment storage asthe second internal monitor drone transits the second airbornemonitoring path within the shipment storage. As such, step 735 may theninvolve automatically identifying the condition of the internal storagecontents based upon at least one of the at least one image captured bythe first image sensor or the at least one image captured by the secondimage sensor.

In a further embodiment, method 700 may have step 735 automaticallyidentifying a configuration change as the condition of the internalstorage contents based upon at least one of (1) a comparison of multipleimages over time from the first image sensor as the first internalmonitor drone repeatedly transits the first airborne monitoring path and(2) a comparison of multiple images over time from the second imagesensor as the second internal monitor drone repeatedly transits thesecond airborne monitoring path.

In still another more detailed embodiment, a depth sensor may be used inthe first and/or second internal monitor drone's sensor array so as togather multi-dimensional mapping information as the relevant monitoredsensory information related to the internal storage contents. Inparticular, an embodiment of method 700 may implement aeriallymonitoring the first part of the internal storage contents with thefirst sensor array in step 715 by mapping, with a first depth sensorpart of the first sensor array, a first configuration of a first storagearea within the shipment storage that maintains the first part of theinternal storage contents as the first internal monitor drone transitsthe first airborne monitoring path within the shipment storage. Thefirst configuration represented as a multi-dimensional mapping of atleast the first part of the internal storage contents. For example,internal monitor drone 625 a may use a depth sensor on its sensor arrayto map the part of the internal shipment storage area 120 patrolled byinternal monitor drone 625 a. The mapping produced by such a depthsensor may take the form of a three-dimensional mapping of shippingitems 140 a and 140 b as they exist within the front part of internalshipment storage area 120. Such a mapping can be referred to as aconfiguration of shipping items 140 a and 140 b as that particular time.In similar fashion, aerially monitoring the second part of the internalstorage contents with the second sensor array in step 720 may involveusing a second depth sensor part of the second sensor array to map asecond configuration of a second storage area within the shipmentstorage that maintains the second part of the internal storage contentsas the second internal monitor drone transits the second airbornemonitoring path within the shipment storage. As such, step 735 in thisfurther embodiment of method 700 may be done by automaticallyidentifying the condition of the internal storage contents based upon atleast one of the multi-dimensional mapping of at least the first part ofthe internal storage contents and the multi-dimensional mapping of atleast the second part of the internal storage contents. Morespecifically, step 735 may be implemented by automatically identifying aconfiguration change as the condition of the internal storage contentsbased upon at least one of (1) a comparison of the multi-dimensionalmapping of the first part of the internal storage contents over time and(2) a comparison of the multi-dimensional mapping of the second part ofthe internal storage contents over time.

As a result, a configuration change notification may be transmitted bythe first internal monitor drone to a shipment storage transceiver inresponse to identifying the configuration change as part of step 735when the identified configuration change is based upon the comparison ofthe multi-dimensional mapping of the first part of the internal storagecontents over time. Such a configuration change notification provides aprompted intervention request message from the first internal monitordrone related to the particular configuration change identified

In a further embodiment of method 700, steps 715 and 720 may involvescanning for identification symbols when aerially monitoring theinternal storage contents of the shipment storage. This may involvescanning, for example, the name of a shipping item printed on the sideof the item or the actual dimensions of a shipping item indicated on theitem (such as on a ULD loaded within the internal storage area). In moredetail, step 715 may aerially monitor the first part of the internalstorage contents with the first sensor array by scanning a firstidentification symbol fixed to a first item within the first part of theinternal storage contents using a first scanner part of the first sensorarray (e.g., a barcode scanner or image sensor) as the first internalmonitor drone transits the first airborne monitoring path within theshipment storage. Likewise, step 720 may aerially monitor the secondpart of the internal storage contents with the second sensor array byscanning a second identification symbol fixed to a second item withinthe second part of the internal storage contents using a second scannerpart of the first sensor array (e.g., a barcode scanner or image sensor)as the second internal monitor drone transits the second airbornemonitoring path within the shipment storage. Thereafter, step 735 may beimplemented by automatically identifying the condition of the internalstorage contents based upon at least one of the first identificationsymbol scanned by the first scanner or the second identification symbolscanned by the second scanner. These identification symbols may bebarcode symbols that identify shipping information related to theirrespective item, or may be a sign affixed to the respective item thatidentifies shipment loading information (e.g., a desired orientation forthe item, or other placement information for the item, such as ahazardous material warning label for the item).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 700 as disclosedand explained above in various embodiments may be implemented with anapparatus, such as exemplary internal monitor drones 625 a, 625 b,running an embodiment of airborne monitoring program code 325, and as apart of a multiple drone-based monitored storage system including theshipment storage, internal docking stations 630 a, 630 b, and internalmonitor drones 625 a, 625 b. Such code 325 may be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable medium in each of the drones, such asmemory storage 315 disposed within each of internal monitor drones 625a, 625 b. Thus, when executing code 325, the OBC 300 (or OMP 310) ofinternal monitor drones 625 a, 625 b (in cooperation with othercircuitry onboard the drones 625 a, 625 b, such as elements of theirrespective sensor arrays 230) may be operative to perform certainoperations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosed above,including method 700 and variations of that method.

Drone-Based Delivery Vehicle Part Inspections

While the above description focuses on embodiments of an appliedtechnical solution that enhances how to unconventionally monitor andintelligently notify others about a condition related to what may be ina delivery vehicle's shipment storage compartment, the followingdescribes various embodiments that deploy an aerial inspection dronepaired as an exclusive part of a delivery vehicle. In general, anembodiment of an aerial inspection drone paired to the delivery vehiclemay perform airborne inspections of specific parts of the deliveryvehicle and transmit messages based upon the airborne inspections toother logistics entities, such as vehicle operators (such as flight crewpersonnel) and/or logistics personnel assigned to the vehicle that mayservice the vehicle. This type of airborne extension of the deliveryvehicle improves how a delivery vehicle may be self-inspecting using anexclusively paired aerial inspection drone.

In more detail, FIGS. 8A-12 relate to embodiments of a drone-baseddelivery vehicle inspection system and its operation where a pairedaerial inspection drone may be deployed to aerially gather sensor-basedinspection information related to targeted inspection points on thedelivery vehicle, automatically identify an inspection condition if theinspection point is out of range, and transmit a notification to othersabout such an inspection condition. FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplaryaircraft 100 as a type delivery vehicle similar to that shown in earlierFigures. In FIG. 8A, aircraft 100 has operational control section 105(e.g., a cockpit from which flight personnel can control and fly theaircraft 100) and a shipment storage 810 used for maintaining itemsbeing shipped within aircraft 100 between different locations.

Similar to that shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, exemplary operational controlsection 105 includes a vehicle transceiver 135. As previously explained,such a vehicle transceiver 135 may be implemented as a standalone unit(e.g., a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraftcrew personnel) or an integrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite.In more detail, an embodiment of exemplary vehicle transceiver 135 mayinclude a display (such as a touch screen display or avionics displayunit); a control input interface with buttons, switches, or touchsensitive receptors on the touch screen display; and a radio. Theexemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 135 communicates with a pairedaerial inspection drone (PID) 825 and other radio-based devices over theradio, receives user/operator input via the control input interface, andgenerates vehicle related information for presenting to theuser/operator on the display. Thus, as explained in more detail below,an embodiment of exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 135 may be usedas a base station type of device that interacts with PID 825 as well asother radio-based devices operated by flight personnel, logisticspersonnel, and maintenance personnel.

Exemplary shipment storage 810, as shown in FIG. 8A, includes a dronestorage area 815, an interior shipment storage area 820, and an onboardsafety system area 822. Exemplary drone storage area 815 includes aninternal docking station 830 that provides secure storage for the PID825 when PID 825 is not flying. Exemplary docking station 830 may beimplemented similar to internal docking station 130 as described aboveand shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Thus, similar to docking station 130,internal docking station 830 also includes a physical docking interface,an electronic charging connection interface, and an electronic dataconnection interface similar to PDI 415, ECCI 435, and EDCI 440.

An exemplary PID 825 (as shown and explained in more detail below withrespect to FIG. 9) secured within the drone storage area 815 is a linkedpart of aircraft 100 that travels with the aircraft 100 during adelivery vehicle based shipment operation (e.g., shipping one or moreitems from a first location to a second location while the items aremaintained within a cargo storage area (such as internal shipmentstorage area 820)). Exemplary PID 825, as shown in FIG. 9, may beimplemented with similar component elements as that of internal monitordrone 125 for providing an airborne sensory platform capable ofmaneuvering and navigating in close proximity to aircraft 100. PID 825may generally use a similar drone capture interface (DCI) with which tobecome secured relative to internal docking station 830 within dronestorage area 815. Additionally, the sensor array deployed on PID 825typically includes at least one type of image sensor with which tocapture images relative to different inspection points on the deliveryvehicle 100 targeted for aerial review. As will be explained in moredetail below, such an aerial inspection review may be autonomouslyconducted by the PID 825 or may be controlled with flight commandswirelessly provided to the PID 825 from a wireless base controller orthrough a wired control tether connection to a base controller on theaircraft 100 (as shown and explained in more detail with reference toFIG. 10). Furthermore, such an aerial inspection review may be conductedby the PID 825 on inspection points targeted within the delivery vehicleas well as inspection points outside the delivery vehicle.

The interior shipment storage area 820 is generally an accessiblestorage compartment of aircraft 100 where items being shipped (alsogenerally referred to as cargo) may be loaded, moved, secured, andmaintained during flight operations of the aircraft 100. For example,packaged shipping item 845 is shown in FIG. 8A secured within aircraft100 within internal shipment storage area 820. Packaged shipped item 845may be moved as cargo within this storage area 820 using different typesof cargo handling points (e.g., a roller, a caster, a portion of aroller deck, a roller ball mat, a castor mat, a turntable, a conveyor,and the like) deployed on aircraft 100. Such exemplary cargo handlingpoints facilitate moving cargo into, within, and out of the storage area820 so that cargo can safely and more easily moved into, within, and outof the aircraft 100. For example, package shipping item 845 is shown inFIG. 8A on a portion of a roller ball mat 835 having rollers 840. Suchrollers 840 may be fixed or articulated to provide a motion-capablesurface interface for cargo but later be retracted. The exemplaryrollers 840 shown in FIG. 8A allow for logistics personnel to move item845 as cargo from outside the aircraft 100 and into a desired locationwithin area 820 where the item 845 may be secured. Securing cargo may beaccomplished with a cargo attachment point, such as tie down attachment852 (e.g., a hole, slot, hook, or loop in the mat 835) configured toreceive a tie down strap 850. Generally, such a cargo attachment pointmay be located within the storage area 820 (including ramp accesses) andused as a type of anchor that helps maintain and secure cargo in itsdesired location. In one embodiment, the cargo attachment point may beconfigured to receive a cargo netting that may be placed over the item845 as part of securing the item within storage area 820. Anotherembodiment may use an exemplary cargo attachment point in the form of apin disposed on a support floor (such as roller mat 835) that directlycontacts and securely holds part of the structure of a ULD as the item845. Thus, cargo handling points and cargo attachment points are typesof mechanical structure that interface with what is being shipped withinstorage area 820 and may need periodic inspection to ensure properoperation. However, a typical cargo aircraft (such as aircraft 100) mayhave a very large number of cargo handling points and cargo attachmentpoints.

A delivery vehicle's shipment storage (such as storage 810) may alsohave one or more designated areas where an enhanced level of inspectionmay be desired or warranted. An enhanced level of inspection generallyis an inspection with more detail or scrutiny, such as when usingtighter ranges of tolerance for the applicable acceptable range ofsensor data gathered, when spending more time doing the inspection thanfor other areas, when deploying a greater number of sensor types inorder to conduct the inspection, and the like. In general, suchdesignated areas may be associated with particular systems, equipment,or materials that are important from a safety aspect on what is beingtransported or from a mission critical aspect of the aircraft itself.For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, exemplary storage 810 includes anonboard safety system area 822 deemed appropriate for an enhanced levelinspection of points within that area. In other words, areas for certaintypes of equipment and/or storage for certain types of materials (e.g.,hazardous materials, caustic materials, corrosive materials,mission-critical equipment or systems, and the like) may be considereddesignated areas in an embodiment and receive an enhanced level ofinspection for those inspection points related to such a designatedarea. Thus, in the illustrated example, PID 825 may spend more time, usespecial tolerances, or deploy a more robust set of sensors whendetecting sensor-based inspection information from an aerial positionnear fire suppression equipment 855 and fire suppressant storage 860located in the designated onboard safety system area 822.

As mentioned above, embodiments of the delivery vehicle have targetedinspection points associated with the delivery vehicle. The targetedinspection points correspond to respective parts of the delivery vehicleto be inspected in an unconventionally advantageous manner. Suchtargeted inspection points may be different for different deliveryvehicles, such as for different models and configurations of aparticular cargo aircraft (such as aircraft 100), and may comprisemultiple designated inspection areas inside the aircraft and outside theaircraft. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A-8G, exemplary PID 825conducts inspections from aerial positions proximate different targetedinspection points for aircraft 100—both inside and outside aircraft 100.

Targeted inspection points inside aircraft 100 may, for example, includedesignated inspection areas of an accessible cargo storage area (such asarea 820) as well as cargo handling and attachment points. This mayinclude tie down attachment 852 within storage area 820 as a type ofcargo attachment point that would be inspected by PID 825; roller 840and roller ball mat 845 as a type of cargo handling point thatfacilitates movement of cargo (such as item 845) within the aircraft100. Further examples of cargo handling points may include, but are notlimited to a caster, a portion of a roller deck, a castor mat, aturntable, and a conveyor.

Targeted inspection points inside the aircraft 100 (i.e., a type ofdelivery vehicle) may also include other designated inspection areasinside the aircraft, such as the onboard safety system area 822 havingonboard safety system equipment (such as fire suppression equipment 855or fire extinguishing equipment) and related storage 860 for relatedmaterial (such as fire suppression or fire extinguishing material).Further designated inspection areas that may be targeted inspectionpoint within the aircraft 100 may be for storing hazardous materials orother sensitive materials (e.g., areas for temperature sensitivematerials that need to be kept within a tight temperature range, areasfor moisture sensitive materials, areas for other environmentallysensitive materials) that may have strict regulations on how suchmaterials are to be stored and transported.

Exemplary targeted inspection points may also include designatedinspection areas externally exposed on the delivery vehicle. Forexample, such exterior viewable targeted inspection points may include,but are not limited to, a panel on the aircraft; a rivet that joinsstructure together; a seam or joint between parts; an engine (such as ajet or propeller driven engine for an aircraft); a flight controlsurface disposed on a leading or trailing edge of wing, stabilizer, ortail (such as a flap, aileron, tab, spoiler, and the like); a windowseal; a closable entry to within the aircraft (such as a door to theinterior of the aircraft, a belly or side door to a cargo bay, an accessdoor or hatch to an avionics bay, landing gear doors, and the like);aircraft lighting disposed on the exterior of the aircraft; an antennathat may be conformally mounted or that extends from the body of theaircraft; and landing gear and tires that may be fixed or retractable.Furthermore, some exemplary targeted inspection points may be otherwiseexceptionally difficult and time consuming to inspect as they may onlybe accessible from above the aircraft delivery vehicle such that thosepoints (e.g. aircraft lights, control surfaces, window seals, or othercomponents mounted on top of the body of the aircraft) are not visiblefrom a ground level perspective.

In one embodiment, the exemplary targeted inspection points may includea prioritized subset designated for an enhanced level of sensor-basedinspection (such as a subset of targeted inspection points for aircraft100 for a designated inspection area having an onboard safety system855, 860 for the aircraft 100). Thus, an embodiment with a pairedinspection drone conducting aerial inspections of a delivery vehicle(such as aircraft 100) may use different levels of inspection scrutinybased on whether a particular targeted inspection point is part of theprioritized subset.

For example, FIGS. 8A-8G generally show an embodiment of a drone-basedsystem for inspecting an aircraft (as an exemplary delivery vehicle)involving an exclusively paired inspection drone (PID 825) and targetedinspection points both within the aircraft 100 and externally exposed onthe aircraft 100. Referring back to FIG. 8A, PID 825 (as paired andexclusively assigned to aircraft 100 as a dedicated inspection tool forthat delivery vehicle and used only for aircraft 100) is shown in asecure position on docking station 830. Similar to internal dockingstation 130, docking station 830 in this embodiment uses a physicaldocking interface that facilitates maintaining a PID 825 in a secureposition on the station 830, an electronic charging connection interfacethat can provide power to PID 825, and an electronic data connectioninterface that can provide a wired bi-direction data link with PID 825.Docking station 830 may be connected to vehicle transceiver 135, whichmay generate an activation command to initiate an aerial inspection oftargeted inspection points on aircraft 100. In another embodiment, theactivation command may be provided by docking station 830 to PID 825 inresponse to a wireless signal from another device (e.g., a signalreceived over a communication interface on docking station 830 similarto communication interface 430). Further still, another embodiment mayhave the activation command provided wirelessly directly to the PID 825rather than through the docking station 830.

Upon receiving an activation command, PID 825 transitions from at leasta low power state to an active power state as part of a targetedinspection operation of the delivery vehicle. In the active power state,PID 825 causes its drone capture interface to automatically uncouple PID825 from the physical docking interface of internal docking station 830.This may be accomplished with articulating or actuated components on thePID 825, the docking station 830, or both. The PID 825 accesses itsmemory to identify the targeted inspection points from an onboardinspection profile record related to the aircraft 100. In particular,the targeted inspection points correspond to respective parts of theaircraft 100—both inside and outside the aircraft 100.

In FIG. 8B, exemplary PID 825 has used its lifting engines to take offfrom the docking station 830, moved to an initial airborne positionwithin the drone storage area 815, and then moved to an aerial positionproximate one of the targeted inspection points, such as the roller mat835. At this aerial position above the roller mat 835, PID 825 uses anonboard sensor array to detect sensor-based inspection informationrelative to this targeted inspection point. In more detail, PID 825 canautomatically identify an unacceptably out of range inspection conditionabout the roller mat 835 (a targeted inspection point for aircraft 100)based upon the sensor-based inspection information detected from theaerial position above the roller mat 835. The out of range inspectioncondition is specific to the particular targeted inspection point andidentified relative to an acceptable range for that inspection point. Aninspection profile record maintained on the PID 825 may identify eachtargeted inspection point, indicate whether the inspection point isprioritized for an enhanced level of inspection, indicate what sensorsmay be used to perform the inspection of that point, and an associatedacceptable range for sensor-based inspection information gatheredrelative to that point. For example, in FIG. 8B, if PID 825 moves to anairborne position above roller 840 from an initial position abovedocking station 830, PID 825 can automatically identify an inspectioncondition related to roller 840 (as one of the aircraft's targetedinspection points) based on sensor-based inspection information detectedrelative to roller 840. Such sensor-based inspection informationgathered may be imagery of the roller 840 that may be processed toidentify damage or encumbrances and/or depth mapping information thatmay be processed to identify whether roller 840 has been damaged,shifted from an anticipated position relative to other nearby referenceobjects (e.g., other rollers), or simply no longer where it anticipatedto be located. If roller 840 does not appear to be damaged and ispresent, PID 825 may move to another targeted inspection point in theaircraft 100. However, if PID 825 identifies an inspection conditionthat roller 840 is outside the acceptable range for that point (e.g.,roller is not located, roller appears encumbered, roller appear damagedor shifted relative to its anticipated position), the PID 825 cantransmit an inspection notification message to a delivery vehiclereceiver, such as vehicle transceiver 135, so that the inspectioncondition may be acted upon. Similar types of aerial inspections may beconducted within aircraft 100 for other targeted inspection pointswithin the aircraft, such as tie down attachment 852, fire suppressionequipment 855, or fire suppressant storage 860.

As noted above, some of the targeted inspection points for a deliveryvehicle may be externally exposed to the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 8C, acloseable entry or access hatch 865 for aircraft 100 may be opened (orbe remotely actuated to open) to allow PID 825 to move to airbornepositions proximate to targeted inspection points accessible andviewable from outside aircraft 100. In the example shown in FIG. 8D,once out the closable entry or access hatch 865 (whether a cargo rampopening, belly storage hold doors, or a dedicated drone hatch), PID 825may move to an aerial position near wing 875 and proximate the airintake fan 885 of jet engine 880. From this aerial position, PID 825 maydetect sensor-based inspection information to automatically identify anout of range inspection condition about the air intake fan 885 as atargeted inspection point (and transmit a related inspectionnotification message to vehicle transceiver 135 if such a condition isautomatically identified).

In like manner, as shown in FIG. 8E, PID 825 may move to an aerialposition above wing 875 and proximate the control surface aileron 890.From this further aerial position, PID 825 may detect sensor-basedinspection information about the control surface 890 (e.g., its rivets,seams, joints, actuating structure, range of motion, etc.) toautomatically identify an out of range inspection condition about thecontrol surface 890 as a targeted inspection point (and transmit arelated inspection notification message to vehicle transceiver 135 ifsuch a condition is automatically identified). In an embodiment whererange of motion action for control surface 890 is to be inspected, PID825 may directly or indirectly communicate with vehicle transceiver 135to request actuated movement of the control surface being inspected aspart of the inspection and while PID 825 is in the aerial position abovewing 875 and proximate the control surface aileron 890. The vehicletransceiver 135 may then request human actuation of aircraft controls toresponsively cause the control surface to move (e.g., via messaging toflight personnel, display of a message on a transceiver display, or thelike), or may responsively interface with the aircraft's avionics systemto electronically cause the control surface to move without humanintervention.

PID 825 may also inspect targeted inspection points below aircraft 100,such as landing gear 870 a, 870 b shown in FIGS. 8C-8G. For example, asshown in FIG. 8F, PID 825 may move to an aerial position below aircraft100 and proximate rear landing gear 870 b. From this position, PID 825may use its sensor array to detect sensor-based inspection informationabout the rear landing gear 870 b (e.g., its tires, suspension,actuating structure, landing gear doors, etc.) to automatically identifyan out of range inspection condition about the landing gear 870 b as atargeted inspection point. And if there is an out of range inspectioncondition identified, PID 825 may transmit a related inspectionnotification message to vehicle transceiver 135. From there, PID 825 mayre-enter aircraft 100 through entry hatch 865 and may either continuemoving to other positions near further targeted inspection points orreturn to land on docking station 830 within drone storage area 815.

As part of automatically identifying inspection conditions, exemplaryPID 825 may be implemented with connected electronic and sensorycomponents as shown in FIG. 9. Referring now to FIG. 9, exemplary PID825 includes similar components shown and explained with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3 for exemplary internal monitor drone 125. Beyond thosesimilar components, exemplary PID 825 includes an onboard controller(OBC) 900, which is similar to OBC 300. Like OBC 300, OBC 900 uses oneor more processors at its core along with memory 315 (e.g., volatile,non-volatile, or both depending on the configuration of the OBC 900).And like OBC 300, OBC 900 interfaces or connects with motor controlcircuitry (such as electronic speed controllers 360 a, 360 b), guidancerelated circuitry (such as global positioning system (GPS) chip 350,inertial measurement unit (IMU) 355, and proximity sensors 215 a, 215b), dedicated docking circuitry (such as drone capture interface 370 andthe electronic docking connection 235), communication related circuitry(such as communication interface 365), payload electronics (such as theonboard sensor array 230), and an onboard power source that providespower for all of the onboard active electronics (such as onboard battery385). An embodiment of OBC 900 may interface or connect with suchcircuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timercircuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry,DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implementinterfaces (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to thedifferent components disposed within PID 825 (e.g., mounted on differentparts of airframe 200).

As part of the exemplary PID 825, the OBC 900 generally controlsautonomous flying and docking of the drone 825 as well as data gatheringtasks related to different targeted inspection points using sensoryarray 230. In some embodiments, OBC 900 may be implemented with a singleprocessor, multi-core processor, or multiple processors and havedifferent programs concurrently running to manage and control thedifferent autonomous flying/docking and sensor-based inspectioninformation detecting tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown inFIG. 9, flight/docking control and inspection data gathering/assessmentoperations may be divided between an onboard flight controller (OFC) 305and an onboard inspection processor (OIP) 910, respectively. In such anembodiment, OFC 305 and OIP 910 may have access to the same memory, suchas memory storage 315 or, alternatively, OBC 900 may be implemented withseparate dedicated memories that are accessible by each of OFC 305 andOIP 910. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that memory accessibleby OFC 305 in an embodiment may have different accessibility and sizerequirements compared to memory accessible by OIP 910 given thedifferent memory demands for the different responsibilities. Forexample, memory accessible by OIP 910 may be significantly large giventhe anticipated size of sensor-based inspection information gatheredthrough sensory array 230 (e.g., imagery, video, depth mappings, etc.)when compared to the size of memory needed for tasks performed by OFC305. As will be explained further, each of OFC 305 and OIP 910 mayinclude peripheral interface circuitry that couples the processingelement(s) to the different onboard peripheral circuitry, such as theGPS 350, inertial measurement unit 355, the communication interface 365,the electronic speed controllers 360 a, 360 b that control each liftingengine 210 a, 210 b, and the like.

In more detail, exemplary OIP 910 may be implemented with a low powermicroprocessor or processor-based microcontroller that istasked/programmed to gather or receive sensor-based inspectioninformation from the sensory array 230 and automatically identify an outof range inspection condition about a targeted inspection point basedupon the sensor-based inspection information detected from an aerialposition proximate the targeted inspection point. The out of rangeinspection condition generally indicates the detected sensor-basedinspection information is outside an acceptable range for safe ordesired operation of the delivery vehicle relative to that particulartargeted inspection point. As such, OIP 910 may be deployed in anembodiment of PID 825 as a task-dedicated processor that executesoperational and application program code (e.g., operating system 320,delivery vehicle inspection program 925) and other program modulesmaintained in memory 315 useful in aerially inspecting differenttargeted inspection points within and on its paired aircraft 100 inaccordance with embodiments of the invention.

More specifically, operating system 320 may be loaded by OIP 910 uponpower up and provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling,executing of application program code (such as exemplary inspectionprogram 925), and controlling lower level circuitry (e.g., registers,buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OIP 310 thatinterface with other peripheral circuitry onboard PID 825 (such as thesensory array 230, proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b, the electronicdocking connection 235, GPS 350, IMU 355, ESC 360 a, 360 b,communication interface 365, and DCI 370).

Once operating system 320 is loaded, inspection program code 925 may beloaded and execute as part of implementing an aerial drone-based methodfor inspecting a delivery vehicle, such as aircraft 100. Exemplaryinspection program code 925 is a set of executable instructions in theform of one or more machine-readable, non-transient program code modulesor applications. The program code module(s) may be loaded and executedby OBC 900 (or by OIP 910 when flight control is dedicated to a separateOFC 305) to adapt the PID 825 into an unconventionally configured aerialinspection apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft as a linked partof the aircraft that travels with the aircraft during shipmentoperations providing quick and assured inspection functionality for theaircraft wherever the aircraft is located. This specially configured OBC900 of PID 825, as described in more detail herein as a part of anembodiment, implements operative process steps and providesfunctionality that is unconventional, especially when the overallinspection process steps performed by the PID 825 are consideredcollectively as a whole. Such a specially adapted and configured pairedinspection drone 825 helps, as a part of an embodiment, to improve thespeed and robust nature of inspection operations for parts of therelated delivery vehicle—both for designated inspection areas within thedelivery vehicle, outside the delivery vehicle, and areas aeriallyaccessible from above the delivery vehicle but that are not visible froma ground level perspective relative to the delivery vehicle.

During operation, the OBC 900 (or at least the OIP 910) may accessand/or generate data maintained within memory 315, such as sensory data930, flight profile data 935, messaging data 940, and an inspectionprofile record 945. In general, sensory data 930 comprises sensor-basedinspection information gathered by different sensors (described above)deployed as part of the sensory array 230 and may take different formsdepending on the type of sensor used and the type of informationgathered (e.g., numeric measurements of temperature, images, video,depth sensing measurements, etc.). For example, the different sensorsthat may be used on the sensory array 230 of PID 825 may include animage sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imagingsensor, and/or a thermal imaging sensor), a temperature sensor, and/or adepth sensor (e.g., a LIIDAR sensor and/or an ultrasonic transducer).The sensor-based inspection information detected making up sensory data930 may be generated by one of these sensors on sensor array 230 or bymultiple sensors on the sensor array 230 depending on the type ofinspection desired for a particular inspection point.

Flight profile data 935 comprises information that defines how the PID825 is to be flying. This data 935 may include navigational data on anairborne inspection path for the PID 825 to transit that includes anaerial position proximate each of the respective targeted inspectionpoints for this aircraft 100, as well as flight control settinginformation to use when generating flight control input for the ESCs 360a, 360 b when moving relative to these aerial positions.

Messaging data 940 is generally a type of data used when the pairedinspection drone generates and/or transmits a notification or other typeof message related to the condition of one or more of the targetedinspection points on aircraft 100. Such messaging data 940 may includeinformation on messages received or generated onboard to be sent outsidePID 825.

Inspection profile record 945 maintains delivery vehicle dependentinformation accessed and used by inspection program 925. Inspectionprofile record 945 may be initially loaded into memory 315 or laterupdated via a download received by PID 825 and stored into memory 315 soas to provide inspection-related information specific to the particulardelivery vehicle, such as aircraft 100. Inspection profile record 945 atleast includes data indicating the different targeted inspection pointscorresponding to parts of the delivery vehicle to be inspected and anacceptable range of sensor-based inspection information for each of thetargeted inspection points for operation of the delivery vehicle. Usingthe information in the inspection profile record 945 and thesensor-based inspection information gathered, the OIP 910 mayautomatically identify an unacceptable condition related to the one ofthe targeted inspection points (i.e., an out of range inspectioncondition), such as a missing condition, a loose condition, a damagedcondition, a cracked condition, a worn condition, a leaking condition,and a thermal related condition.

In one embodiment, the inspection profile record 945 may also includeprior sensor-based inspection information detected for one or more ofthe targeted inspection points. The PID 825 may store such priordetected information as a benchmark or local reference condition. Inthis way, the OIP 910 may use relative measurements (in addition to orinstead of absolute measurements) when comparing the sensor-basedinspection information for one of the targeted inspection points toprior sensor-based inspection information detected for the same targetedinspection points as part of automatically identifying an inspectioncondition for that targeted inspection point.

In another embodiment, the targeted inspection points defined within theinspection profile record 945 may include a prioritized subset of thetargeted inspection points designated for an enhanced level ofsensor-based inspection. Such a subset may be designated in theinspection profile record as, for example, including parts of thedelivery vehicle serviced within a threshold period of time and/orincluding parts of the delivery vehicle exceeding an age threshold. Asnoted above, the enhanced level of sensor-based inspection may involvemore detail or scrutiny, such as using tighter ranges of tolerance forthe applicable acceptable range of sensor-based inspection informationgathered, spending more time doing the inspection compared to that forother areas, deploying a greater number of sensor types in order toconduct the inspection, and the like.

After PID 825 conducts an aerial inspection of relevant targetedinspection points of aircraft 100, the inspection profile record 945maintained in the memory 315 may be updated by OIP 910 based upon thesensor-based inspection information gathered. As a result, the updatedinspection profile record 945 may reflect an electronic catalog ofaerial inspections relative to each of the targeted inspection points onthe specific delivery vehicle. Such a catalog may be referenced and usedby OIP 910 to identify a condition trend for particular targetedinspection points that may not yet outside the acceptable range, but maybe increasingly approaching the out of range or unacceptable inspectioncondition to warrant issuing a relevant inspection notification message.Furthermore, the updated inspection profile record 945 (which mayinclude trend information on particular targeted inspection points) maybe transmitted by OIP 910 to other devices outside of the PID 825, suchas a vehicle transceiver 135 or maintenance related receivers operatedby maintenance personnel responsible for the delivery vehicle—i.e.,aircraft 100.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above identificationof particular inspection program code 925 and related data 930-945 usedby such code 925 are not exhaustive and that embodiments may includefurther executable program code or modules as well as other datarelevant to operations of a specially programmed processing-based pairedinspection drone 825. Furthermore, those skilled in the art willappreciate that not all data elements illustrated in FIG. 9 as beingwithin memory 315 must appear in memory 315 at the same time.

As discussed above relative to FIG. 3, OFC 305 (as part of OBC 900) is aflight controller capable of autonomous flying of drone 825. In otherwords, OFC 305 (as part of OBC 900) may generate the flight controlinput autonomously to enable the PID 825 to self-control aerialmovements of the PID 825 from the secured position on the internaldocking station 830 to respective aerial positions proximate each of thetargeted inspection points identified in inspection profile record 945.Such autonomous flying may involve automatic take off, transiting anairborne monitoring path (e.g., via waypoint flying), and datacommunication or telemetry while airborne and while secured to thedocking station 830. In more detail, an embodiment of OFC 305 (as partof OBC 900) includes peripheral interface circuitry (not shown in FIG.9, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may beimplemented with buffers, registers, buses, and other communication andcommand pathways) for interacting with guidance related circuitry, motorcontrol circuitry, dedicated docking circuitry, and communicationcircuitry onboard the PID 825 as part of controlling movement and flightstability of drone 825 while navigating and avoiding collisions duringmovement.

Like that of OBC 300, OBC 900 (as well as OFC 305 and/or OIP 910) may beimplemented with a low power embedded processor as part of asingle-board computer having a system-on-chip (SoC) device operating atits core. In such an embodiment, the SoC device may include differenttypes of memory (e.g., a removable memory card slot, such as a SecureDigital (SD) card slot, as removable memory; flash memory operating asonboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAM memory operating as onboardvolatile memory); an operating system (such as Linux) stored on thenon-volatile memory storage and running in volatile RAM memory; andperipherals that may implement any of the GPS 350, IMU 355, ESC 360 a,360 b, communication interface 365, DCI 370, wired data interface 375and charging interface 380.

In some embodiments, the PID 825 may be coupled to a base controller onthe delivery vehicle via a type of control tether. For example, FIG. 10illustrates an embodiment where exemplary PID 825 is coupled to anexemplary base controller 1000 with an exemplary control tether 1005 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. In particular, the basecontroller 1000 shown in FIG. 10 fixed to aircraft 100 and providing atleast data (e.g., flight commands) and, in some embodiments, power tothe PID 825 through the control tether 1005 (e.g., an electric and/orfiber optic conduit between PID 825 and base controller 1000). As such,the PID 825 shown in the embodiment of FIG. 10 may also include acontrol receiver coupled to the OBC 900 of PID 825 (or implemented aspart of OFC 305) where the control receiver has an input connected totether 1005. Such a control receiver (e.g., a receiver interface for OFC305 operating as the PID's control receiver) receives the flight commandfrom the base controller 1000, and passes the received flight command tothe onboard controller (e.g., to the OFC 305), which then generates theappropriate flight control input for the lifting engines 210 a, 210 bbased upon the received flight command. With such a control tether 1005,PID 825 is more limited in its flight range, and has its flight to thedifferent aerial positions proximate targeted inspection pointscontrolled in a non-autonomous way via the control tether 1005 and basecontroller 1000.

In a further embodiment involving flight operations of PID 825controlled by base controller 1000, the OFC 305 of PID 825 may beconfigured and operative to self-generate landing control input for thelifting engines 210 a, 210 b (via signals provided to ESC 360 a, 360 b)if the control tether 1005 breaks. In such a situation, the landingcontrol input provided by OFC 305 helps to safely return PID 825 to theinternal docking station 830 and secure the DCI 370 of PID 825 to thephysical docking interface of the internal docking station 830.

From a process perspective of inspecting a delivery vehicle, anembodiment of a drone-based method for inspecting the delivery vehicle,such as aircraft 100, involves operations of an exclusively pairedinspection drone, such as PID 825. FIG. 11 is a flow diagramillustrating such an exemplary drone-based method for inspecting adelivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring now to FIG. 11, method 1100 begins at step 1105 with thepaired inspection done (PID) transitioning from at least a low powerstate to an active power state as part of a targeted inspectionoperation of the delivery vehicle. The PID may transition from anunpowered state or, alternatively, transition from a low power statesuch as a sleep mode that conserves power and does not have the fullcomplement of onboard circuitry powered up for normal airborneoperations. As explained above with respect to exemplary PID 825, thePID is exclusively assigned to the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft(such as aircraft 100), a delivery van, a truck coupled with a cargohauling trailer, or a marine vessel) and travels with the deliveryvehicle during a delivery vehicle based shipment operation. Such anoperation may be one where the delivery vehicle ships one or more itemsfrom a first location to a second location while those items aremaintained within a cargo storage area of the delivery vehicle. Thus,the PID is an extension of the delivery vehicle given this linkedrelationship and physical coupling between the PID and its assigneddelivery vehicle.

At step 1110, method 1100 continues by automatically uncoupling the PIDfrom a secured position on an internal docking station fixed within thedelivery vehicle (e.g., within an accessible cargo storage compartmentof an aircraft) once the paired inspection drone transitions to theactive power state. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, PID 825 may beautomatically uncoupled from internal docking station 830. This mayinvolve actuating a drone capture interface (and articulating landinggear) on PID 825 to release PID 825 from stationary structure on dockingstation 830, actuating a physical docking interface on docking station830 to release PID 825 using movable securing clamps on the dockingstation 830, or actuating movable structure on both the PID 825 and thedocking station 830 to release PID 825 from its secured position ondocking station 830. In a further embodiment, step 1110 may also involveopening at least one access door (not shown) to the accessible storagecompartment where the access door may separate a drone storage area fromthe accessible storage compartment. In still another embodiment, step1110 may also involve opening a closable entry door or hatch (such ashatch 865) that allows the PID to move outside of the delivery vehicleto conduct aerial inspections of certain targeted inspection points forthe delivery vehicle.

At step 1115, method 1100 proceeds with an onboard processor on the PIDidentifying targeted inspection points corresponding to respective partsof the delivery vehicle. This step may involve downloading an inspectionprofile record for the delivery vehicle into a memory of the PID, wherethe inspection profile record (such as record 945 as explained withrespect to FIG. 9) identifies designated inspection areas specific tothe delivery vehicle as the targeted inspection points. Alternatively,this step may have the PID simply accessing an existing inspectionprofile record in the PID's memory. As explained above, such targetedinspection points may be designated inspection areas specific to insideof the vehicle (e.g., an accessible cargo storage area within anaircraft, a cargo attachment point, a cargo handling point, an onboardsafety system area for equipment and material used for fireextinguishing and suppression, an onboard areas for hazardous materialstorage, and the like). Further, such targeted inspection points may bedesignated areas externally exposed on the delivery vehicle (e.g., adesignated inspection area aerially accessible from above the deliveryvehicle but that is not visible from a ground level perspective relativeto the delivery vehicle, one or more aircraft components of an aircrafttype of delivery vehicle (such as a panel, a rivet, a seam, an engine, aflight control surface, a window seal, a closable entry to within theaircraft, aircraft lighting, an antenna, landing gear, and tires), andthe like).

In a further embodiment of method 1100, one or more of the identifiedtargeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle may be identified asa prioritized subset of the targeted inspection points. As explainedabove, such a prioritized subset is automatically designated for anenhanced level of sensor-based inspection as part of detecting thesensor-based inspection information for the prioritized group of thetargeted inspection points. For example, an exemplary prioritized subsetof the delivery vehicle's targeted inspection points may include certainparts of the delivery vehicle not serviced within a threshold period oftime or certain parts of the delivery vehicle exceeding an agethreshold. Thus, if landing gear 870 b as shown in FIG. 8F has not beenserviced within a designated maintenance period of time, the inspectionconducted by PID 825 as shown in FIG. 8F may be an enhanced level ofinspection because landing gear 870 b is identified as within such aprioritized subset of targeted inspection points for aircraft 100. Anenhanced level of inspection for a targeted inspection point identifiedas one of the prioritized subset may occur over an enhanced inspectionperiod of time (compared to the time taken by the PID to detectsensor-based inspection information for those not in the prioritizedgroup of the targeted inspection points), may involve multiple sensorson the PID (for a more robust type of inspection—imagery, temperature,IR, etc.).

At step 1120, method 1100 proceeds with aerially moving the PID from thesecured position on the internal docking station fixed within thedelivery vehicle to an aerial position proximate one of the targetedinspection points. This may be a position within the delivery vehicle(such as that shown in FIG. 8B proximate roller 840 inside aircraft 100)or a position outside the delivery vehicle (such as that shown in FIG.8D proximate air intake fan 885 of engine 880 outside of aircraft 100).If the position is outside the delivery vehicle, step 1120 may involvecausing a closeable entry access hatch, door, or panel to open so thatthe PID may move from inside the delivery vehicle's docking station tothe aerial position proximate one of the targeted inspection pointsoutside the delivery vehicle.

At step 1125, method 1100 has the PID detecting and gatheringsensor-based inspection information related to the targeted inspectionpoint. Specifically, this involves having at least one sensor on the PIDdetecting the sensor-based inspection information once the PID hasaerially moved to the aerial position proximate one of the targetedinspection points. The sensor(s) used to detect such sensor-basedinspection information may be identified by information in the PID'sinspection profile record (e.g., inspection profile record 945 ofexemplary PID 825 shown in FIG. 9). For example, the PID's sensor arraymay include an image sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared(IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor) used to capture oneor more images relative to a targeted inspection point; a temperaturesensor used to measure a temperature relative to a targeted inspectionpoint; or a depth sensor (e.g., a LIDAR sensor, a radar sensor, anultrasonic transducer) used to surface map a targeted inspection point.

At step 1130, method 1100 has the onboard processor of the PID (e.g.,OIP 910) compare the detected sensor-based inspection informationgathered at step 1125 to information (e.g., reference parameters)maintained as part of the PID's inspection profile record. Such acomparison is part of automatically finding differences between theanticipated condition of the targeted inspection point and the actualcondition of the targeted inspection point and quantifying thosedifferences. In one embodiment, the reference information or parametersmay be prior sensor-based inspection information for this targetedinspection point. In another embodiment, the reference information orparameters may be measurement or sensor based ranges for the targetedinspection point that corresponds with acceptable operation of that partof the delivery vehicle. In a further embodiment, such referenceinformation or parameters may include both prior sensor-based inspectioninformation for this targeted inspection point and sensor data rangesthat may be used in the comparison. In other words, the comparison atstep 1130 may involve a more simplistic comparison of sensor informationdetected to a limit or range, but may also involve multiple comparisonsof different types of detected sensor information to various types ofreference information.

At step 1135, method 1100 automatically identifies an inspectioncondition related to the targeted inspection point based upon theresults of the comparison in step 1130. In other words, the processingof the currently gathered sensor-based inspection information for thistargeted inspection point may yield a result that the targetedinspection point is now outside an acceptable range for operation of thedelivery vehicle. In more detail, this may be due to the comparisonindicating the current state of the targeted inspection point isdifferent enough from prior sensor-based inspection information gatheredon the same point so that the result indicates an inspection conditionfor the point. Such an inspection condition may indicate the targetedinspection point is in an unacceptable condition for proper operation ofthe inspection point itself and/or proper operation of the deliveryvehicle. For example, the unacceptable condition related to the targetedinspection point may be a missing condition, a loose condition, adamaged condition, a cracked condition, a worn condition, a leakingcondition, and a thermal related condition. Thus, if step 1135 fails toautomatically identify an inspection condition for the targetedinspection point, step 1135 proceeds directly to step 1155. However, ifstep 1135 does automatically identify an inspection condition based uponthe sensor-based inspection information detected (e.g., the comparisonof such sensor-based inspection information to reference information forthe targeted inspection point), step 1135 proceeds to step 1140.

At step 1140, the PID responsively transmits an inspection notificationmessage to a delivery vehicle receiver disposed on the delivery vehicle(such as vehicle transceiver 135). The inspection notification messageis a type of feedback for a paired inspection drone-based systemassociated with the delivery vehicle (or including the deliveryvehicle). As such, the delivery vehicle receiver is able to alertpersonnel associated with the delivery vehicle. In more detail, anembodiment may have step 1140 also (or alternatively) transmit theinspection notification message to a mobile interactive transceiveroperated by vehicle crew personnel for the delivery vehicle to notifythe vehicle crew personnel that operate the delivery vehicle (e.g., aflight engineer that uses a ruggedized tablet as a type of mobileinteractive transceiver and can view the inspection notification messageas well as relevant sensor-based inspection information about therelated targeted inspection point). Likewise, an embodiment may havestep 1140 also (or alternatively) transmit the inspection notificationmessage to a maintenance receiver operated by maintenance personnel forthe delivery vehicle to notify the maintenance personnel that servicethe delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that uses a ruggedizedtablet as a type of maintenance receiver and can view the inspectionnotification message as well as relevant sensor-based inspectioninformation about the related targeted inspection point).

At step 1145, an embodiment of method 1100 may have the PID receive aflight command in response to the transmitted inspection notificationmessage. Such a flight command may be received so as to effectivelyredirect aerial movement of the PID from moving to another of thetargeted inspection points and, instead, head back to the prior targetedinspection point for re-inspection of that targeted inspection point.Such a flight command may be sent to the PID from, for example, adelivery vehicle transceiver, a mobile interactive transceiver, or amaintenance receiver—i.e., any of those radio-based devices thatreceived the transmitted inspection notification message. Thus, if thePID did not receive a flight command in step 1145, method 1100 proceedsdirectly to step 1155. Otherwise, step 1145 continued to step 1150 wherethe PID prepares to re-inspect the targeted inspection point. In otherwords, at step 1150, the PID has received a flight command and the PIDre-assesses the reference information about the targeted inspectionpoint in order to prepare to re-inspect the targeted inspection point.In this step, re-assessing the reference information may have the PIDusing further information from the inspection profile record and/orinformation provided in or with the flight command relevant to anenhanced level of inspection so that the PID can proceed back to step1125 from step 1150 to conduct the re-inspection. Such an enhanced levelmay gather further detailed sensor-based inspection information thatthan performed previously, such as more images, more views or gatheringimages from different perspectives relative to the targeted inspectionpoint. Thus, method 1100 continues back to step 1125 from step 1150 forthe re-inspection of the targeted inspection point.

However, if no flight command was received in step 1145, method 1100continued at step 1155 to determine if the PID is at the end of aninspection associated with each of the targeted inspection points forthe delivery vehicle. If not, then step 1155 proceeds to step 1160 wherethe PID moves to the next aerial position proximate another of thetargeted inspection points and then continues back to step 1125.Otherwise, the PID is at the end of the inspection and method 1100continued from step 1155 to step 1165.

At step 1165, method 1100 may proceed with the onboard processor of thePID updating the inspection profile record stored in a memory of the PIDbased upon the sensor-based inspection information provided by thesensor to the onboard processor (i.e., the sensor-based inspectioninformation detected at step 1125. In a more detailed embodiment, theupdated inspection profile record may reflect an electronic catalog ofaerial inspections relative to each of the targeted inspection points onthe delivery vehicle. This type of catalog may, thus, provide apart-by-part inspection history with which to identify trends andpre-failure conditions as types of inspection conditions toautomatically identify as part of step 1135. In some embodiments, thisupdate step may be performed as part of another embodiment of method1100 after the inspections for all of the delivery vehicle's targetedinspection points have been conducted. However, in other embodiment,this update step may be implemented incrementally after the sensor-basedinspection information is detected for anything less than all of thedelivery vehicle's targeted inspection points. For example, the PID mayupdate the inspection profile record in its memory based upon thesensor-based inspection information gathered after inspecting differentsubsets of the targeted inspection points or after inspecting each ofthe targeted inspection points for the delivery vehicle.

At step 1170, method 1100 may proceed with the PID transmitting theupdated inspection profile record to a second radio-based receiver, suchas a maintenance receiver separate from the delivery vehicle, to thedelivery vehicle receiver, and/or to a mobile interactive transceiveroperated by vehicle crew personnel for the delivery vehicle. Similar tothat described above related to step 1165, in some embodiments, step1170 may be performed as part of a further embodiment of method 1100after all inspections for the delivery vehicle's targeted inspectionpoints have been conducted. However, in other embodiment, this updatestep may be implemented incrementally after the sensor-based inspectioninformation is detected relative to each of the delivery vehicle'stargeted inspection points.

At step 1175, method 1100 has the PID returning to the internal dockingstation to land and be secured relative to the docking station, such aswhen PID 825 lands on internal docking station 830 and PID 825transitions to a secured position on docking station 830. In a furtherembodiment, the PID may return to the internal docking station prior tothe end of the delivery vehicle's inspection—e.g., while awaiting aflight command from another radio-based device used by personnelinvolved with the delivery vehicle, such as flight personnel ormaintenance personnel.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of another embodiment that more explicitly showsadditional radio-based devices that may interact with PID 825 as part ofa more detailed drone-based system for inspecting aircraft 100 and thatmay implement embodiments of method 1100. Referring now to FIG. 12,exemplary aircraft 100 is shown as a type of delivery vehicle fortransporting items (e.g., packaged shipping item 845) as part of ashipment operation. Similar to that shown in FIG. 8B, FIG. 12 showsexemplary PID 825 in an aerial position proximate a targeted inspectionpoint (e.g., roller 840) within a cargo storage area 820 of aircraft100. Exemplary PID 825, as described above, may transmit messages (e.g.,an inspection notification message) to and receive messages/commandsfrom a variety of radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicletransceiver 135 and radio-based transceivers 1200, 1205, and 1210.

As noted above, delivery vehicle transceiver 135 is a radio-based devicethat may be implemented as a standalone unit (e.g., a ruggedizedradio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crew personnel) or anintegrated part of the aircraft's avionics suite disposed within theaircraft's operation control section 105 (e.g., a cockpit compartmentfrom which flight personnel can control and fly the aircraft 100). Inmore detail, an embodiment of the vehicle transceiver 135 may be fixedwithin operation control section 105 and have at least a display, acontrol input interface, and a radio. As such, the delivery vehicletransceiver 135 may generate vehicle related information for presentingon the display (such as information related to any received inspectionnotification messages on a particular targeted inspection point),receive user input via the control input interface (such as a selectivefollow-up action (e.g., re-inspection at an enhanced level) to takerelative to a targeted inspection point), and communicate with PID 825over the radio (or communicate with any of radio-based transceivers1200, 1205, and 1210 used by flight personnel responsible for operatingthe aircraft 100, maintenance personnel, or logistics personnel).

As shown in FIG. 12, radio-based transceivers 1200, 1205, and 1210 areexemplary types of mobile interactive transceivers that may communicatewith at least the delivery vehicle transceiver 135 or each other. Forexample, radio-based transceiver 1200 is shown as an exemplary mobileinteractive transceiver associated with and operated by an aircraftoperator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, andthe like) in compartment 105 that is responsible for controlling theaircraft 100. Exemplary radio-based transceiver 1200 may be implementedas a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by aircraft crewpersonnel and carried with them while performing duties within aircraft100.

Radio-based transceiver 1205 is shown as an exemplary maintenancetransceiver separate from the aircraft 100 and the delivery vehicletransceiver 135 onboard aircraft 100. Radio-based transceiver 1205, as amaintenance transceiver, is operated by maintenance personnel (e.g., amechanic) associated with servicing the aircraft 100. In someembodiments, delivery vehicle transceiver 135 (or flight personnelradio-based mobile interactive transceiver 1200) may forward informationrelated to the inspection notification message to the maintenancetransceiver 1205. This may occur automatically when the inspectionnotification message meets an automatically identifiable criteria (e.g.,a relevant targeted inspection point associated with the inspectionnotification message is not found or is demonstrably damaged asindicated by the identified inspection condition). However, in otherembodiments, the forwarding of information to the maintenancetransceiver 1205 may occur based upon user input provided to thedelivery vehicle transceiver 135 (or transceiver 1200), such as whenflight personnel reviews the inspection notification message from aninitial aerial inspection by PID 825 and provides user input to causetransceiver 135 (or transceiver 1200) to forward such information tomaintenance transceiver 1205 as a type of maintenance request specificto the targeted inspection point at issue in the inspection notificationmessage. Further still, other embodiments may forward informationrelated to an inspection notification message after a re-inspection ofthe targeted inspection point of interest is performed. This may alsooccur based upon user input received by the delivery vehicle transceiver135 (or transceiver 1200) or automatically based upon informationrelated to the re-inspection. For example, delivery vehicle transceiver135 (or transceiver 1200) may automatically forward a re-inspectionrelated notification message to maintenance transceiver 1205 afterflight personnel reviews another inspection notification message from are-inspection performed by PID 825.

In further embodiments, the PID 825 may directly transmit the relevantinspection notification message to the maintenance transceiver and avoidthe need to use the delivery vehicle transceiver 135 (or transceiver1200) as an intermediary component in such an enhanced drone-basedinspection system for aircraft 100.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the advantageous andunconventional integration of a maintenance transceiver as part of apaired inspection drone-based system for inspecting a delivery vehicle,such as aircraft 100, yields an improved and enhanced inspection systemthat reduces the inspection and related maintenance time it takes tokeep the delivery vehicle operating as part of logistics operations.

Likewise, exemplary radio-based transceiver 1210 may be implemented as aruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used by logistics personnelresponsible for loading and unloading shipping items (such as item 845)within aircraft 100. Radio-based transceiver 1210 is shown as anothermobile interactive logistics transceiver separate from the aircraft 100and the delivery vehicle transceiver 135 onboard aircraft 100. As withtransceiver 1205, in some embodiments, delivery vehicle transceiver 135(or flight personnel radio-based mobile interactive transceiver 1200)may forward information related to the inspection notification messageto the mobile logistics transceiver 1210. This may occur automaticallywhen the inspection notification message meets an automaticallyidentifiable criteria (e.g., a relevant targeted inspection pointassociated with the inspection notification message is not found or isdemonstrably damaged as indicated by the identified inspectioncondition). However, in other embodiments, the forwarding of informationto the mobile logistics transceiver 1210 may occur based upon user inputprovided to the delivery vehicle transceiver 135 (or transceiver 1200),such as when flight personnel reviews the inspection notificationmessage from an initial aerial inspection by PID 825 and provides userinput to cause transceiver 135 (or transceiver 1200) to forward suchinformation to mobile logistics transceiver 1210 as a type of logisticsrequest specific to the targeted inspection point at issue in theinspection notification message. This may, for example, inform logisticspersonnel responsible for loading/unloading the delivery vehicle of anissue with a cargo handling point that is missing or otherwise may bemalfunctioning. Further still, other embodiments may forward informationrelated to an inspection notification message after a re-inspection ofthe targeted inspection point of interest is performed. This may alsooccur based upon user input received by the delivery vehicle transceiver135 (or transceiver 1200) or automatically based upon informationrelated to the re-inspection. For example, delivery vehicle transceiver135 (or transceiver 1200) may automatically forward a re-inspectionrelated notification message to mobile logistics transceiver 1210 afterflight personnel reviews another inspection notification message from are-inspection performed by PID 825. In further embodiments, the PID 825may directly transmit the relevant inspection notification message tothe mobile logistics transceiver 1210 and avoid the need to involve thedelivery vehicle transceiver 135 (or transceiver 1200) as anintermediary component in such an enhanced drone-based inspection systemfor aircraft 100.

With reference to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12 (and the earlierdescriptions of embodiments that aerially inspect targeted inspectionpoints on a delivery vehicle in FIGS. 8A-11), an exemplary enhanceddrone-based inspection system may include the paired aerial inspectiondrone (e.g., PID 825), an internal docking station (e.g., station 830),a delivery vehicle transceiver (e.g., vehicle transceiver 135), and amobile interactive transceiver (e.g., such as one or the radio-basedtransceivers 1200-1210). Some embodiments of this system may alsoinclude the delivery vehicle itself as part of the system—especially, asthe paired inspection drone is essentially an exclusively assignedextension of the vehicle as a sensor-based monitor that travels with thedelivery vehicle during shipment operations. Examples of such a relevantdelivery vehicle may include an aircraft (such as aircraft 100), adelivery van, a truck coupled with a cargo hauling trailer, or a marinevessel.

Regarding operation of such a system, the system's paired aerialinspection drone in this embodiment automatically uncouples from theinternal docking station at the beginning of a targeted inspectionflight to inspect targeted inspection points of the delivery vehicle;automatically identifies an inspection condition about at least one ofthe targeted inspection points based upon sensor-based inspectioninformation gathered related to at least one of the targeted inspectionpoints (where such an inspection condition indicates a situation that isoutside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle); andtransmits an inspection notification message to the delivery vehicletransceiver upon identifying the inspection condition. In response, thesystem's delivery vehicle transceiver is configured to forwardinformation related to the inspection notification message to the mobileinteractive transceiver (e.g., where delivery vehicle transceiver 135forwards information related an inspection notification message aboutroller 840 to mobile interactive transceiver 100 operated by flightpersonnel that control aircraft 100). In further response, the mobileinteractive transceiver is configured to receive the information relatedto the inspection notification message from the delivery vehicletransceiver and display at least a portion of the forwarded informationrelated to the inspection notification message to the delivery vehiclepersonnel associated with the delivery vehicle (e.g., a pilot, co-pilot,flight engineer, cargo specialist, or other flight personnel thatcontrol aspects of the operation of aircraft 100).

In a more detailed embodiment, the delivery vehicle transceiver maygenerate inspection notification information related to the inspectioncondition as vehicle related information for presenting on the displayof the delivery vehicle transceiver. In response, the delivery vehicletransceiver may receive inspection condition feedback input as userinput received via the control input interface of the delivery vehicletransceiver. This inspection condition feedback may indicate aninstruction to forward information related to the inspectionnotification message to the mobile interactive transceiver. Based uponsuch an instruction, the delivery vehicle transceiver may thenselectively transmit the information related to the inspectionnotification message to the mobile interactive transceiver.

Relative to interactive display aspects of the mobile interactivetransceiver in this exemplary system embodiment, the mobile interactivetransceiver may display at least a portion of the forwarded informationit receives related to the inspection notification message as a promptfor an enhanced inspection of the at least one of the targetedinspection points. Furthermore, the mobile interactive transceiver (suchas transceiver 1200 used by flight personnel or transceiver 1210 used bylogistics personnel) may receive input from such personnel in responseto the displayed prompt. Such input may take the form of a verifiedresult indication related to the enhanced inspection of the relevanttargeted inspection point(s). Thereafter, the system's mobileinteractive transceiver may transmit a confirmation message to thedelivery vehicle transceiver, where the confirmation message indicatethe result of the enhanced inspection of the at least one of thetargeted inspection points.

In still a further embodiment of an enhanced drone-based inspectionsystem, a separate maintenance transceiver (e.g., transceiver 1205operated by a mechanic that services aircraft 100) may be added as partof the system. As such, the system's delivery vehicle transceiver mayforward information related to the inspection notification message tothe maintenance transceiver as a type of maintenance request. However,in another embodiment, the system's maintenance receiver may directlyreceive such information from the paired aerial inspection dronedirectly without relying upon an intermediary element, such as thedelivery vehicle transceiver or the mobile interactive transceiver.

In particular, another embodiment of such an enhanced drone-basedinspection system may focus more on such a direct communication linkbetween the paired inspection drone (e.g., PID 825 as shown in FIG. 12)and a mobile interactive transceiver. Here, the aerial inspection droneis paired to the delivery vehicle as an exclusively assignedsensor-based monitor that travels with the delivery vehicle during adelivery vehicle based shipment operation. The paired aerial inspectiondrone deploys multiple sensors to detect sensor-based inspectioninformation about targeted inspection points on the delivery vehiclesimilar to that discussed above. In this embodiment, the system's pairedaerial inspection drone is configured and operative to control itsinternal flight control elements (e.g., lifting engines 210 a, 210 b) tofly proximate each of the targeted inspection points as part of atargeted inspection flight. During this targeted inspection flight, thesystem's paired aerial inspection drone detects, senses, or otherwisegathers sensor-based inspection information from one or more of thesensors relative to each of the targeted inspection points. While doingso (or in some embodiments after gathering all such sensor-basedinspection information relative to each of the targeted inspectionpoints), the system's paired aerial inspection drone automaticallyidentifies an inspection condition about one or more of the targetedinspection points based upon the sensor-based inspection informationgathered. Such an inspection condition indicating the one or more of thetargeted inspection points are outside an acceptable range for operationof the delivery vehicle. Thereafter, the system's paired aerialinspection drone broadcasts an inspection notification message over awireless communication channel.

The system's mobile interactive transceiver in this embodiment isdisposed as a system element that is generally in communication with thepaired aerial inspection drone and being operated by delivery vehiclepersonnel associated with the delivery vehicle, such as flight operatorpersonnel, maintenance personnel, or logistics personnel. In moredetail, the system's mobile interactive transceiver has a graphicaldisplay (e.g., a touchscreen) that presents visual information to thedelivery vehicle personnel, a control input receiver that receives userinput from the delivery vehicle personnel (e.g., buttons, switches, or atouchscreen part of the graphical display), and a wireless radiooperative to communicate with the paired aerial inspection drone overthe wireless communication channel (e.g., a cellular or other formattedwireless communication path). As part of the system, the system's mobileinteractive transceiver receives the inspection notification messagedirectly from the paired aerial inspection drone through the wirelessradio, and generates a prompt message as the graphical display on theinteractive display interface. The prompt message provides informationrelated to the inspection notification message and the identifiedinspection condition related to at least one of the targeted inspectionpoints. The system's mobile interactive transceiver may also receiveinput on the control input receiver from the delivery vehicle personnelin response to the generated prompt message. Such input may be providedas a verified result indication related to the enhanced inspection of atleast one of the targeted inspection points. Further, the system'smobile interactive transceiver may transmit a confirmation messagedirectly back to the paired aerial inspection drone. Such a confirmationmessage may indicates the result of the enhanced inspection of the atleast one of the targeted inspection points, and allow the paired aerialinspection drone to quickly and efficiently continue to conduct itsinspection of the remaining targeted inspection points.

In another embodiment, the system may include two different mobileinteractive transceivers (e.g., transceiver 1200 operated by flightpersonnel and transceiver 1210 operated by logistics personnelassociated with loading or unloading the delivery vehicle). Each ofthese different mobile interactive transceivers have a directcommunication path to the paired aerial inspection drone and, thus, arecapable of respectively receiving the inspection notification messagedirectly from the paired aerial inspection drone through the wirelessradio (and responding as described herein).

In still a further embodiment of this exemplary enhanced drone-basedinspection system, a separate maintenance transceiver (e.g., transceiver1205 operated by a mechanic that services aircraft 100) may be added aspart of the system. As such, the system's delivery vehicle transceivermay forward information related to the inspection notification messageto the maintenance transceiver as a type of maintenance request.However, in another embodiment, the system's maintenance receiver maydirectly receive such information from the paired aerial inspectiondrone directly without relying upon an intermediary element, such as thedelivery vehicle transceiver or the mobile interactive transceiver.

Updating for Modified Inspections Using a Paired Inspection Drone

While the above described embodiments generally deploy an aerialinspection drone paired as an exclusive part of a delivery vehicle,further embodiments may include exemplary paired-drone based systems andmethods for conducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehiclewhen the paired inspection drone receives an inspection update message.In general, an embodiment of an aerial inspection drone paired to thedelivery vehicle may advantageously and unconventionally be re-tasked toconduct a modified airborne inspection of a different set of deliveryvehicle parts, change how to inspect a given set of delivery vehicleparts, or both. Such a dynamic ability to update, modify, or change whatshould be inspected and how such inspection points should be inspectedprovides a further improvement on how a delivery vehicle is inspected.As such, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 13-16 and described belowprovide a technical solution that improves how a delivery vehicle may bemore efficiently self-inspecting using an exclusively paired aerialinspection drone that can be updated on-the-fly to modify how thedelivery vehicle is to be inspected or alter how an ongoing inspectionis to be completed by such a paired aerial inspection drone.

In more detail, FIG. 13 is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based systemfor conducting a modified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 13, this exemplarysystem embodiment includes an inspection drone 1325 paired to thedelivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft, a trailer pulled with a motorizedvehicle, a marine vessel, and a railroad car) that communicates with adelivery vehicle transceiver 1335. Exemplary PID 1325 is configuredsimilar to PID 825 (as described above) with some functional differencesin its inspection program 925 as it operates as an element of anexemplary system for conducting a modified inspection of a deliveryvehicle. In more detail and with similar parts as explained and shownfor exemplary PID 825, exemplary PID 1325 is used to aerially inspectparts of aircraft 100 and includes a main housing, an onboard controllerdisposed within the main housing, a memory storage coupled to theonboard controller, and multiple lifting engines that are coupled withrespective lifting rotors fixed to a different portions of the mainhousing. Each of the lifting engines on PID 1325 is responsive to flightcontrol input generated by the onboard controller as part of maintaininga desired flight profile. Exemplary PID 1325 further includes one ormore sensors (such as sensors from sensor array 230) along with acommunication interface that each are coupled to the onboard controller.The sensor detects or gathers sensor-based inspection information whilethe PID 1325 is airborne and then provides the detected sensor-basedinspection information to the onboard controller. The communicationinterface is deployed, in this example, as a wireless radio-basedcommunication interface (similar to communication interface 365) thatcan send and receive wireless signals (such as signals 1305, 1310) fromother radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicle transceiver 1335.For example, signal 1305 may be an inspection update message transmittedby delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 and received by the communicationinterface on PID 1325, while signal 1310 may be an inspectionnotification message transmitted by the communication interface on PID1325 to the delivery vehicle transceiver 1335.

FIG. 14 presents further details about exemplary components that may beused to implement an exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG.14, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 is shown having ahousing 1400 that maintains elements on it or within it that make up thetransceiver 1335. For example, housing 1400 supports an exemplary userinterface that includes a display 1410 (e.g., a CRT display, flat screendisplay, dot matrix display, interactive touchscreen display, and thelike); a panel 1420 of buttons 1425 (e.g., power button, illuminationbutton, and the like) and control knobs/switches 1430-1440; and a set ofkeys 1415 that function as a type of keyboard for user input. Generally,such user interface components for delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 maydisplay information to a user via display 1410 and accept input from theuser via keys 1415 and panel 1420 to use in interactions with the PID1325.

Exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 further includes atransceiver microcontroller 1405 having one or more processors andmemory at its core along with memory disposed within housing 1400.Transceiver microcontroller 1405 interfaces with the user interfacecomponents described above along with a wireless radio 1445, an externaldata interface 1450, and an avionics interface 1455. An embodiment oftransceiver microcontroller 1405 may interface or connect with suchcircuitry by deploying various onboard peripherals (e.g., timercircuitry, USB, USART, general-purpose I/O pins, IR interface circuitry,DMA circuitry, buffers, registers, and the like) that implement aninterface (e.g., a plug type or connectorized interface) to thesedifferent components disposed within delivery vehicle transceiver 1335.

Wireless radio 1445 is generally a radio-based transceiver that may useone or more wireless formats (e.g., Wi-Fi frequencies and formats,cellular frequencies and formats, ISM radio frequencies and formats forRF data signaling, LMR and SMR wireless frequencies and formats, and thelike) to broadcast and receive through its associated antenna. Wirelessradio 1445 accepts control input and messaging input from transceivermicrocontroller 1405 (such as information used for an inspection updatemessage) and provides received messages and/or data received totransceiver microcontroller 1405 (such as an inspection notificationmessage) for processing and appropriate display tasks performed by thetransceiver microcontroller 1405 in conjunction with, for example,display 1410.

The exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 may deploy the externaldata interface 1450 coupled to the transceiver microcontroller 1405 as ageneral type of externally accessible interface, such as a USB interfaceor other data interface. Using such an external data interface 1450,delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 may interact with externalperipherals, such as an external display (not shown) to show informationrelated to an inspection notification message received or an externalmemory storage (not shown) that may maintain and provide access toupdated information on additional inspection points for a deliveryvehicle (e.g., a different or modified set of parts of the aircraft 100to be inspected, changes in how to inspect one or more of such deliveryvehicle parts, or both).

Likewise, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 may use anavionics interface 1455 coupled to the transceiver microcontroller 1405as a type interface to the avionics suite of electronics disposed on thedelivery vehicle. For example, avionics interface 1445 may allowdelivery vehicle transceiver 1335 to communicate over an avionics busdeployed on the delivery vehicle, such as an ARINC 429 data bus, aMIL-STD-1553 bus, a Honeywell SAFEbus backplane data bus used ondifferent types of aircraft. Similar to the external data interface1450, such an avionics interface 1455 may allow delivery vehicletransceiver 1335 to interact with avionics equipment, such as a cockpitmulti-function display (not shown) to show information related to aninspection notification message received or an onboard avionics memorystorage (not shown) that may maintain and provide access to updatedinformation on additional inspection points for a delivery vehicle(e.g., a different or modified set of parts of the aircraft 100 to beinspected, changes in how to inspect one or more of such deliveryvehicle parts, or both).

Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that transceivermicrocontroller 1405 may be implemented with a low power embeddedprocessor as part of a single-board computer having a system-on-chip(SoC) device operating at its core. In such an embodiment, the SoCdevice may include different types of memory (e.g., a removable memorycard slot, such as a Secure Digital (SD) card slot, as removable memory;flash memory operating as onboard non-volatile memory storage; and RAMmemory operating as onboard volatile memory); an operating system (suchas Linux) stored on the non-volatile memory storage and running involatile RAM memory; and peripherals that may implement any of wirelessradio 1445, external data interface 1450, and avionics interface 1455.

Additionally, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 includes apower interface and transformer 1460 that provides electrical power tothe active circuitry within exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335using externally supplied electricity (which may be transformed to thedesired voltage for use by the active circuitry within exemplarydelivery vehicle transceiver 1335) or an onboard battery 1465. Onboardbattery 1465 may be charged via the power interface and transformer1460, which may be connected to an external power supply on the deliveryvehicle (e.g., aircraft 100).

In an exemplary system embodiment that includes PID 1325 and deliveryvehicle transceiver 1335, the delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 maygenerate an inspection update message identifying information about atleast one or more additional inspection points. The additionalinspection points for a delivery vehicle generally include updatedinformation used for a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. Asnoted above, this may include a different or modified set of parts ofthe delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft 100) to be inspected, changes inhow to inspect one or more of the delivery vehicle parts, or both. Theupdated information for the additional inspection points may be acceptedas input on the user interface (e.g., via touchscreen interactions ondisplay 1410, via alphanumeric input provided on keys 1415, via userinput provided on panel 1420 of buttons 1425 and/or controlknobs/switches 1430-1440). Such updated information may be accepted asraw data input manually through such user interface interactions or, insome instances, may be accepted as prompted interactions vis the userinterface elements that cause delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 toaccess either onboard memory or externally accessible memory to retrievesuch updated information. Once generated, the delivery vehicletransceiver 1335 transmits the inspection update message via itswireless radio 1445.

The system's PID 1325 is then operative to receive the inspection updatemessage from the delivery vehicle transceiver 1335. This may occur priorto the PID 1325 lifting off from docking station 830 (shown in FIG. 13)or may occur once PID 1325 is airborne. Furthermore, reception of theinspection update message by the airborne PID 1325 may occur before thePID 1325 has begun conducting an inspection of certain targetedinspection points on the aircraft 100 or, alternatively, may occur afterthe PID 1325 has begun conducting its aerial inspection of targetedinspection points on the aircraft 100.

The onboard controller (e.g., transceiver microcontroller 1405) of PID1325 receives the inspection update message from its onboard wirelesscommunication interface and PID 1325 accesses its memory storage toidentify existing delivery vehicle inspection points from the inspectionprofile record stored in the memory storage (e.g., existing deliveryvehicle inspection points for aircraft 100 identified in inspectionprofile record 945 within memory 315). The identification of existingdelivery vehicle inspection points may, in some instances, occur beforereceiving the inspection update message or, in other instances, mayoccur after and as a result of receiving the inspection update message.The delivery vehicle transceiver's onboard controller then updates theexisting delivery vehicle inspection points with the information relatedto the additional inspection points to yield updated information thatidentifies relevant targeted inspection points corresponding torespective parts of the delivery vehicle to use in a modified inspectionof the delivery vehicle. For example, the transceiver microcontroller1405 of PID 1325 may modify the inspection profile record to identifythe targeted inspection points (which include information on theadditional inspection points) and store the modified inspection profilerecord in memory accessible by microcontroller 1405.

Such updated information on the additional inspection points may includethe same parts to be inspected but with different inspection parameters(e.g., which sensor or sensors to use, how to position the PID 1325 whenusing such sensor(s), and how much data to gather using the sensor(s)over periods of time) and/or different parts to be inspected using newinspection parameters for such parts. Some of the additional inspectionpoints may be specific to inside of the delivery vehicle (such as anaccessible cargo storage area within an aircraft, a cargo attachmentpoint located within an accessible cargo storage area, a cargo handlingpoint that helps move cargo shipments within an accessible cargo storagearea (e.g., a roller, a caster, a portion of a roller deck, a rollerball mat, a castor mat, a turntable, and a conveyor)). Other additionalinspection points may be externally exposed on the delivery vehicle,such as a designated inspection area aerially accessible from above thedelivery vehicle that is not visible from a ground level perspectiverelative to the delivery vehicle or an aircraft component (e.g., apanel, a rivet, a seam, an engine, a flight control surface, a windowseal, a closable entry to within the aircraft, aircraft lighting, anantenna, landing gear, and a tire).

The PID 1325 then conducts the modified inspection of the deliveryvehicle by gathering sensor-based inspection information related to eachof the targeted inspection points (based upon the additional inspectionpoints information). The PID 1325 may use one or more sensors whengathering this inspection information, such as an image sensor (e.g.,visual imaging sensor, an infrared (IR) imaging sensor, and a thermalimaging sensor) that captures one or more images relative to theadditional inspection points and in accordance with information relatedto the additional inspection points, or a depth measuring sensor (e.g.,a LIDAR sensor and a sound transducer) that maps a surface relative toan additional inspection point in accordance with information related tothat additional inspection point. In a further embodiment, the PID 1325may use two sensors of different types a particular additionalinspection point or use different types of sensors for different ones ofthe additional inspection points in accordance with the updatedinformation stored in the modified inspection profile record thatindicates the type of sensor to use with the targeted inspection points(including any additional inspection points).

A further embodiment may, for example, have the onboard controller ofPID 1325 autonomously send flight control input to the lifting enginesto cause PID 1325 to traverse respective aerial positions proximate eachof the targeted inspection points as part of conducting the modifiedinspection of the delivery vehicle. When doing so, the onboardcontroller of PID 1325 may automatically identify an inspectioncondition about at least one of the targeted inspection points when thesensor-based inspection information for the at least one of the targetedinspection points is outside of an acceptable range related to thatparticular targeted inspection point, and then cause the communicationinterface of PID 1325 to responsively transmit an inspectionnotification message to the delivery vehicle transceiver uponidentifying the inspection condition for that targeted inspection point.

As shown in FIG. 13, the delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 is disposedin a control compartment 105 for the aircraft 100 and, in someimplementations, may be implemented as an integrated part of aircraft100. However, in other embodiments, such as that shown in FIG. 15, theabove described system's delivery vehicle transceiver may be a mobiletransceiver device used in support of delivery vehicle operations thatis physically separate from the delivery vehicle. Referring now to FIG.15, radio-based transceiver 1200 is shown as an exemplary mobileinteractive transceiver associated with and operated by an aircraftoperator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer, cargo specialist, andthe like) in compartment 105 that is responsible for controlling theaircraft 100. As noted above, exemplary radio-based transceiver 1200 maybe implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone used byaircraft crew personnel and carried with them while performing dutieswithin aircraft 100. Relative to a system embodiment for conducting amodified inspection, exemplary radio-based transceiver 1200 may interactwith PID 1325 in the same role as transceiver 1335 is described above.In this manner, an operator of radio-based transceiver 1200 may provideinput on one or more additional inspection points related to thedelivery vehicle so that radio-based transceiver 1200 transmits theinspection updated message to PID 1325. In one example, this may allowthe operator of radio-based transceiver 1200 to have received a priorinspection notification message from PID 1325 and provide furtherdetailed and changed inspection parameters for a particular targetedinspection point (e.g., updated information considered as an additionalinspection point) or provide further relevant parts of the aircraft 100that are to be inspected as additional inspection points. In anotherexample, this may allow the operator of radio-based transceiver 1200 toupdate PID 1325 to reflect new cargo attachment points are being usedwithin aircraft 100 or certain cargo handling points have been changedor configured differently to accommodate the current cargo of items tobe shipped within the aircraft's internal shipment storage area 820. Inthis manner, interactive signaling 1305, 1310 may be used betweenradio-based transceiver 1200 (operating as a type of delivery vehicletransceiver) and PID 1325 as part of an exemplary drone-based system forconducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. Furthermore,while not shown in FIG. 15, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat one or more of exemplary radio-based transceivers 1205 and 1210 maysimilarly interact with PID 1325 in the same role as transceiver 1335 isdescribed above in other embodiments of a drone-based system forconducting a modified inspection of the delivery vehicle.

In similar fashion, this type of system embodiment may operate inaccordance with an exemplary drone-based method for conducting amodified inspection of a delivery vehicle. FIG. 16 is a flow diagramillustrating such an exemplary drone-based method for conducting amodified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG. 16, method 1600begins at step 1605 where a first transceiver receives input thatidentifies at least one or more additional inspection points. Forexample, the first transceiver (e.g., delivery vehicle transceiver 1335or one of the mobile radio-based transceivers 1200, 1205, 1210physically separate from the delivery vehicle) may receive such inputthrough its user interface components, where the input acceptedidentifies information about the additional inspection points. Suchinformation may include the identification of further parts of thedelivery vehicle to inspect as well as further or different inspectionparameters to use when inspecting those further parts or the existingparts to be inspected. Such information may reflect a change in theconfiguration of the delivery vehicle or the addition of new equipmentused onboard the delivery vehicle. In another example, the firsttransceiver may receive information about the additional inspectionpoints as data from an external source, such as a memory storage coupledto the first transceiver (e.g., an update file that includes theinformation about the additional inspection points). The externalinformation may be accepted through a prompted input using the userinterface elements of the first transceiver (e.g., depressing a switchor button, or tapping an interactive touchscreen display interface whenselecting such information or when downloading such information).

At step 1610, method 1600 proceeds by generating and transmitting aninspection update message by the first transceiver to a pairedinspection drone (PID), such as PID 1325, which is a linked part of thedelivery vehicle and that travels with the delivery vehicle duringdelivery vehicle based shipment operations (such as when shipping cargoitems maintained within a cargo storage area of the delivery vehicle).The inspection update message essentially identifies at least one ormore additional inspection points associated with the delivery vehicleusing the information obtained and accepted in step 1605.

At step 1615, method 1600 has the PID receiving the inspection updatemessage transmitted by the first transceiver. For example, as shown inFIG. 13, exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335 transmits awireless signal 1305 to PID 1325 that includes an inspection updatemessage that has information identifying additional inspection pointsrelative to what is to be inspected on aircraft 100.

At step 1620, method 1600 proceeds with the PID accessing memory toidentify existing delivery vehicle inspection points from an inspectionprofile record stored in memory. The inspection profile record, such asrecord 945, essentially maintains delivery vehicle dependent informationin the form of data indicating the different targeted delivery vehicleinspection points corresponding to parts of the delivery vehicle to beinspected and an acceptable range of sensor-based inspection informationfor each of the targeted inspection points for operation of the deliveryvehicle. This existing set of information may also include priorsensor-based inspection information detected for one or more of thetargeted delivery vehicle inspection points and, in some instances, mayinclude a prioritized subset of the targeted delivery vehicle inspectionpoints designated for an enhanced level of sensor-based inspection.

At step 1625, method 1600 proceeds with the PID updating the existingdelivery vehicle inspection points with the information on additionalinspection points to yield an updated set of targeted inspection pointscorresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle. In moredetail, the PID may generate a modified inspection profile record thatidentifies the updated targeted inspection points as a first group ofdesignated inspection areas specific to the delivery vehicle as theexisting delivery vehicle inspection points and identifies a secondgroup of designated inspection areas specific to the delivery vehicle asthe additional inspection points. Embodiments may collectively identifyboth groups as the new targeted set of inspection points, which mayinclude a changed set of inspection points, a set of inspection pointshaving changed inspection parameters on how to inspection such points,and/or a set of inspection points having changed inspection thresholdsfor acceptable operation.

At step 1630, method 1600 proceeds to use at least one sensor on the PIDto conduct the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle by gatheringsensor-based inspection information related to each of the targetedinspection points and provide the sensor-based inspection information bythe sensor to an onboard processor on the PID. For example, this mayinvolve capturing one or more images relative to a targeted inspectionpoint using an image sensor (e.g., a visual imaging sensor, an infrared(IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor), or surface mappingrelative to a targeted inspection point using a depth sensor (e.g., aLIDAR sensor and a sound transducer). In another example, this mayinvolve detecting the sensor-based inspection information for onetargeted inspection point with a first type of sensor and detecting thesensor-based inspection information for a second targeted inspectionpoint with a second type of sensor according to the modified inspectionprofile record.

When the relevant sensor-based inspection information for a particulartargeted inspection point identified in the modified inspection profilerecord has been gathered, steps 1635 and 1640 automatically identify aninspection condition about that targeted inspection point (which may beone of the additional inspection points). In particular, at step 1635,method 1600 proceeds with the PID comparing the gathered sensor-basedinspection information to reference parameters for that targetedinspection point (which may be one of the additional inspection points)in accordance with information in the modified inspection profilerecord. In one embodiment, the reference information or parameters maybe prior sensor-based inspection information for this targetedinspection point. In another embodiment, the reference information orparameters may be measurement or sensor based ranges for the targetedinspection point that corresponds with acceptable operation of that partof the delivery vehicle. In a further embodiment, such referenceinformation or parameters may include both prior sensor-based inspectioninformation for this targeted inspection point and sensor data rangesthat may be used in the comparison. In other words, the comparison atstep 1635 may involve a more simplistic comparison of sensor informationdetected to a limit or range, but may also involve multiple comparisonsof different types of detected sensor information to various types ofreference information as reflected in the modified inspection profilerecord for that targeted inspection point.

At step 1640, method 1600 automatically identifies an inspectioncondition related to the targeted inspection point (which may be one ofthe additional inspection points) based upon the results of thecomparison in step 1635. In other words, the processing of the currentlygathered sensor-based inspection information for this targetedinspection point may yield a result that the targeted inspection pointis now outside an acceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicleaccording to the modified information in the inspection profile record.Thus, if step 1640 fails to automatically identify an inspectioncondition for the targeted inspection point, step 1640 proceeds directlyto step 1650. However, if step 1640 does automatically identify aninspection condition based upon the sensor-based inspection informationdetected (e.g., the comparison of such sensor-based inspectioninformation to reference information for the targeted inspection point),step 1640 proceeds to step 1645.

At step 1645, an embodiment of method 1600 may have the PID responsivelytransmit an inspection notification message to a delivery vehiclereceiver disposed on the delivery vehicle (such as exemplary deliveryvehicle transceiver 1335). This inspection notification message is atype of feedback for a paired inspection drone-based system associatedwith the delivery vehicle (or including the delivery vehicle) as the PIDconducts the modified inspection of the delivery vehicle. As such, thedelivery vehicle receiver is able to alert personnel associated with thedelivery vehicle, such as an aircraft operator (e.g., pilot, co-pilot,flight engineer, cargo specialist, and the like) in compartment 105 thatis responsible for controlling the aircraft 100. A further embodimentmay have step 1645 also (or alternatively) transmit the inspectionnotification message to a mobile interactive radio-based transceiver1200 separate from the delivery vehicle but operated by vehicle crewpersonnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the vehicle crew personnelthat operate the delivery vehicle (e.g., a flight engineer that uses aruggedized tablet as a type of mobile interactive transceiver and canview the inspection notification message as well as relevantsensor-based inspection information about the related targetedinspection point). Likewise, another embodiment may have step 1645 also(or alternatively) transmit the inspection notification message to amaintenance radio-based transceiver 1205 operated by maintenancepersonnel for the delivery vehicle to notify the maintenance personnelthat service the delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that usesa ruggedized tablet as a type of maintenance receiver and can view theinspection notification message as well as relevant sensor-basedinspection information about the related targeted inspection point).Furthermore, an embodiment may have step 1645 also (or alternatively)transmit the inspection notification message to a logistics radio-basedtransceiver 1210 (operated by maintenance personnel for the deliveryvehicle to notify the maintenance personnel that service the deliveryvehicle (e.g., an aircraft mechanic that uses a ruggedized tablet as atype of maintenance receiver and can view the inspection notificationmessage as well as relevant sensor-based inspection information aboutthe related targeted inspection point).

At step 1650, method 1600 has the PID determine if it is at the end ofthe modified inspection associated with each of the targeted inspectionpoints (including any additional inspection points) for the deliveryvehicle. If not, then step 1650 proceeds to step 1655 where the PIDmoves to the next aerial position proximate another of the targetedinspection points and then continues to step 1660. Otherwise, the PID isat the end of the modified inspection and method 1600 concludes afterstep 1650.

At step 1660, the PID determines if another inspection update messagehas been received mid-stream during the modified inspection of thedelivery vehicle. If so, step 1660 proceeds back to step 1625 to furtherupdate the currently targeted inspection points (e.g., the informationidentifying relevant parts to be inspected and how they are to beinspected including their related reference parameters). If not, step1660 proceeds back to step 1635 to gather sensor-based inspectioninformation for the next targeted inspection point in the modifiedinspection of the delivery vehicle.

Verified Inspection Using a Paired Inspection Drone

Expanding upon the embodiments described above that use an aerialinspection drone exclusively paired as part of a delivery vehicle,further embodiments may implement exemplary paired-drone based systemsand methods for conducting a verified inspection of the deliveryvehicle. In general, a verified inspection is one that is performedafter an initial inspection identifies a potential adverse issue with apart of the delivery vehicle, and further inspection is warranted inorder to make a determination related to the part's acceptability forproper deliver vehicle operation. In a verified inspection embodiment, aradio-based transceiver (such as a delivery vehicle transceiver or amobile interactive transceiver operated by delivery vehicle relatedpersonnel) generally provides a unique interface for interactivelyintervening to verify an issue related to a potential adverse inspectioncondition automatically discovered by the paired inspection drone. Thetransceiver presents information about an interactive interventionrequest about the potential adverse inspection condition, generates avisual interface that unconventionally assists with conducting theverified inspection related to the request, and integrates withoperations of the exclusively paired inspection drone to help implementor conduct the desired verified inspection. This dynamic andunconventional ability to verify what may be wrong with a previouslyinspected inspection point that may be problematic using an inspectiondrone exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle provides a yet anotherimprovement on how a delivery vehicle is inspected and how suchinspections may be enhanced. Thus, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 17-19and described below provide a technical solution that improves how apotential adverse inspection condition with part of a delivery vehiclemay be interactively addressed in a manner that leverages theexclusively paired inspection drone and advantageous user interfaceinteractions via a separate transceiver operated by delivery vehiclepersonnel that speed up and enhance the delivery vehicle inspectionprocess.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of an exemplary drone-based system used to conducta verified inspection of a delivery vehicle in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 17, this exemplary systemembodiment includes an inspection drone (PID) 1725 paired to aircraft100 that interfaces with a radio-based transceiver, such as deliveryvehicle transceiver 1735. Exemplary PID 1725 is configured similar toPID 825 and PID 1325 (as described above) with some functionaldifferences in its inspection program 925 as it operates as an elementof an exemplary system for conducting a verified inspection of adelivery vehicle. In more detail and with similar parts as explained andshown for exemplary PID 825, exemplary PID 1725 is used to aeriallyinspect parts of aircraft 100 and includes a main housing, an onboardcontroller disposed within the main housing, a memory storage coupled tothe onboard controller, and multiple lifting engines that are coupledwith respective lifting rotors fixed to a different portions of the mainhousing. Each of the lifting engines on PID 1725 is responsive to flightcontrol input generated by the onboard controller as part of maintaininga desired flight profile. Exemplary PID 1725 further includes one ormore sensors (such as sensors from sensor array 230) along with acommunication interface that each are coupled to the onboard controller.The sensor detects or gathers sensor-based inspection information whilethe PID 1725 is airborne and then provides the detected sensor-basedinspection information to the onboard controller. The communicationinterface is deployed, in this example, as a wireless radio-basedcommunication interface (similar to communication interface 365) thatcan send and receive wireless signals (such as signals 1705, 1710) fromother radio-based devices, such as delivery vehicle transceiver 1735.For example, signal 1705 may be a verification command or other dronecontrol input transmitted by delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 andreceived by the communication interface on PID 1725, while signal 1710may be an interactive intervention request or additional sensor-basedinspection information transmitted by the communication interface on PID1725 to the delivery vehicle transceiver 1735.

Exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1735, as shown in FIGS. 17-18Eand explained with reference to embodiments that conduct a verifiedinspection of a delivery vehicle, is configured similar to deliveryvehicle transceiver 1325 (as described above and with the details shownin FIG. 14) with further details as explained below regarding itsoperation as an element of an exemplary system for conducting a verifiedinspection of a delivery vehicle. In general, delivery vehicletransceiver 1735 functions as a type of radio-based interactivetransceiver where the operator may receive different types ofinformation from PID 1725 about a potential adverse inspection conditionfor part of the delivery vehicle, interact with the PID 1725 as part ofconducting a follow-up verified inspection, and use the transceiver torapidly and efficiently view and review information related toadditional sensor-based inspection information gathered about that partof the delivery vehicle. In doing so, the delivery vehicle transceiver1735 allows the operator to input a verification result and then updatethe PID 1725 with feedback on the verification result.

As with exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1335, delivery vehicletransceiver 1735 shown in FIGS. 17-18E has a housing that supports auser interface that includes a display 1410 (e.g., a CRT display, flatscreen display, dot matrix LCD display, interactive touchscreen display,and the like); a panel 1420 of buttons 1425 (e.g., power button,illumination button, and the like) and control knobs/switches 1430-1440;and a set of keys 1415 that function as a type of keyboard for userinput. In some instances, the interactive touchscreen display 1410 mayshow graphic images representing the delivery vehicle and highlightedparts of the delivery vehicle. The display 1410 may also show additionalsensor-based inspection information gathered relative to parts of thedelivery vehicle, which may, for example, be in the form of one or morestill images, a video, numeric sensor data, or a depth sensor mapping ofpart of the delivery vehicle (e.g., a 3D generated model representingthe part being subjected to the verified inspection). The user interfacecomponents for delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 may display suchinformation to a user via display 1410 and accept input from the uservia keys 1415 and panel 1420.

Referring now to FIGS. 18A-18F, the exemplary drone-based system of FIG.17 is shown in a general example involving a modified inspection for apart of the delivery vehicle. As shown in FIG. 17, the system's PID 1725has detected sensor-based inspection information related to a targetedinspection point on aircraft—for example, the tie down strap 850 that ispart of a cargo attachment point securing packaged shipping item 845.However, as such sensor-based inspection information is gathered, PID1725 automatically identified a potential adverse inspection conditionrelated to the tie down strap 850 because the strap is not where it wasin a prior inspection of that cargo attachment point. As a result, PID1725 transmits an interactive intervention request in signal 1710 sentto delivery vehicle transceiver 1735. In response, as shown in FIG. 18A,the delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 displays a notification on itsuser interface—e.g., a graphic model 1800 representing aircraft 100 ondisplay 1410 of the transceiver 1735. The graphic model 1800 shows areasof the delivery vehicle, such as a cargo mat 1840 where items 1845 maybe secured using tie down strap 1850 via cargo attachment points 1852.Additionally, the graphic model 1800 generated on display 1410 includesa highlighted area 1860 where the tie down strap is located. Thishighlighted area 1860 is a selectable region of the displayed graphicmodel of the aircraft 1800. As such, the operator of the deliveryvehicle transceiver 1735 is notified about the potential adverseinspection condition related to the tie down strap 850 and that there isa need for a verified inspection to be conducted relative to area 1860.

The operator, at this point, may personally perform such a verifiedinspection by physically moving to the actual area of the aircraft 100where the PID 1725 has identified such a potential adverse inspectioncondition. While this may be done for some parts of the aircraft, thisoften is time consuming or difficult to do given the location and/orexposure of that part to human inspection. Therefore, an embodiment mayhave the operator initiate such a verified inspection by selecting thehighlighted area 1860 (as a selectable region) with user interfaceelements, such as a touch interface or buttons/knobs that allow theoperator to identify the area 1860 and then select it for furtherautomated inspection via a verification type of inspection that providesenhanced additional sensor-based inspection information. For example, asshown in FIG. 18B, flight personnel may select area 1860 on display 1410of delivery vehicle transceiver 1735. Delivery vehicle transceiver 1735detects this selection action and generates a verification command thatis then transmitted via signal 1705 to PID 1725. Upon receipt of theverification command (which may identify parameters or drone controlinput to be used as part of this follow-up inspection of the tie downstrap 850), PID 1725 moves to a different aerial position to provide adifferent perspective relative to the tie down strap 850, and engagesselect sensors to gather more detailed additional sensor-basedinspection information 1865. As shown in FIG. 18C, PID 1725 moves toanother aerial position to provide yet another perspective relative tothe tie down strap 850 (an exemplary inspection point), and againengages select sensors to gather more detailed additional sensor-basedinspection information 1870. Such additional sensor-based inspectioninformation 1865, 1870 may include still images and/or video imagery,which are then fed back to the delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 andshown on display 1410. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18D, a live-feedvideo 1890 may be shown in one frame 1875 on display 1410 while stillimages 1895 may be shown in another frame 1880. Flight personnel mayinteractively control PID 1725 while viewing the live-feed video 1890 inorder to refine what additional sensor-based inspection information isgathered. Thus, the flight personnel can then better view and review thetie down strap 850 as positioned on shipping item 845 and can make averification result determination—e.g., about whether the extent the tiedown strap 850 has moved as indicated by the video inspectioninformation 1890 and still imagery 1895 is, in fact, problematic andneeds addressing or whether such movement is sufficiently small or minorindicative of continued safe operation of the aircraft.

Depending upon the particular inspection point at issue, the system mayuse different sensors, different perspectives, and/or different limitsfor the additional sensor-based inspection information gathered in averified inspection. For example, a verification command sent bydelivery vehicle transceiver 1735 to PID 1725 may identify parametersthat have PID 1725 using a depth sensor to surface map the area aroundthe inspection point at issue as part of the verified inspection. Inanother example, the verification command may identify parameters thathave PID 1725 using an ultrasonic transducer as another type of sensorthat uses sound waves to map surfaces, which can help validate orsupplement data received by a depth sensor that maps the area around theinspection point at issue.

For example, as shown in FIG. 18E, PID 1725 has deployed its onboarddepth sensor to map the relevant area around the tie down strap 850 thatwas identified in the potential adverse inspection condition. Such amapping may be performed from multiple vantage points or perspectivesrelative to the location of the tie down strap 850. As such, the mappinginformation may be used, in this example, to generate athree-dimensional (3D) model of the current state of that inspectionpoint, such as exemplary 3D model 1896 shown in frame 1897 of aninteractive touchscreen display 1410 on delivery vehicle transceiver1735. Personnel operating the delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 mayselect different onscreen touch icons 1898 to manipulate and move the 3Dmodel 1896 on display 1410 (without requiring remote control orinteracting further with PID 1725). In this manner, such personneloperating the delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 may zoom in and out, andchange perspectives when investigating the potential adverse inspectioncondition related to the tie down strap 850 used on shipping item 845 aspart of a verified inspection.

While the example shown and explained above used delivery vehicletransceiver 1735 as the particular transceiver interacting with PID 1725related to conducting a verified inspection, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that other transceivers may be substituted fortransceiver 1735 (such as mobile interactive radio-based transceivers1200, 1205, and 1210 that may communicate with each other, PID 1725,and/or delivery vehicle transceiver 1735). For example, mobileinteractive radio-based transceiver 1210 may be a ruggedized radio-basedtablet or smartphone used by logistics personnel responsible for loadingand unloading shipping items (such as item 845) within aircraft 100.Mobile interactive transceiver 1210 may operate the same as deliveryvehicle transceiver 1735 described above in FIGS. 17-18E related toverified inspections and having the mobile interactive transceiver 1210interacting with PID 1725 in the manner described above. Alternatively,an embodiment may deploy mobile interactive transceiver 1210 wheredelivery vehicle transceiver 1735 operates as a communication hubrelated to verified inspections conducted by PID 1725 and interactiveuser input and displayed verification related additional sensor-basedinspection information are received and shown on mobile interactivetransceiver 1210, as shown in FIG. 18F.

In light of the example described above relative to FIGS. 17-18F,details about an exemplary drone-based system used to conduct a verifiedinspection of a delivery vehicle (e.g., an aircraft, a trailer andrelated motorized vehicle, a marine vessel, and a railroad car) may befurther explained. An embodiment of such a system may include a pairedinspection drone and a display-enabled transceiver (such as PID 1725 anddelivery vehicle transceiver 1735 that has display 1410). The inspectiondrone is exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle and has one or moresensors (such as a still image camera, a video camera, and/or a depthsensor) used to gather inspection information related to parts of thedelivery vehicle. As part of this system, the paired inspection droneaerially inspects targeted inspection points defined in an inspectionprofile record for the delivery vehicle (e.g., inspection profile record945) and corresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle (suchas a roller 840 or tie down strap 850). The display-enabled transceiver,which communicates with the paired inspection drone via a wirelesscommunication interface, is operated through an interactive userinterface (such as interactive touchscreen display 1410 on transceiver1735), which accepts input from the operator and displays notificationinformation, such as that shown on display 1410 in FIGS. 18A-18E. Thedisplay-enabled transceiver may be fixed and part of the deliveryvehicle (such as how transceiver 1735 is fixed and located in thecontrol compartment 105 of the aircraft 100) or it may be implemented asa mobile display-enabled transceiver device physically separate from thedelivery vehicle (such as mobile interactive transceiver 1210 operatedby logistics personnel related to aircraft 100).

In this system embodiment, the paired inspection drone executes itsinspection program stored onboard. Execution of this particularexemplary inspection program allows for particular functionality in thepaired inspection drone so that the drone becomes configured to identifythe relevant targeted inspection points from the inspection profilerecord stored within the paired inspection drone, and then detectsensor-based inspection information using one or more sensors relativeto one of the targeted inspection points once the paired inspectiondrone has aerially moved to a first aerial position proximate thattargeted inspection point (such as when PID 1725 has moved to an aerialposition proximate tie down strap 850 and then uses a camera to takepictures of the tie down strap 850). The paired inspection drone thenautomatically identifies a potential adverse inspection conditionregarding that targeted inspection point based upon the detectedsensor-based inspection information (such as when PID 1725 automaticallyidentifies there is a potential adverse inspection condition with thetie down strap 850 given the currently gathered image shows movement ofthe strap relative to a prior inspection of the strap. As such, thepaired inspection drone automatically generates and responsivelytransmits an interactive intervention request to the display-enabledtransceiver so that an appropriate level of follow-up inspecting mayoccur to quickly determine whether the identified potential adverseinspection condition warrants finding that the targeted inspection pointneeds attention by fixing or replacement. In general, an exemplaryinteractive intervention request identifies the potential adverseinspection condition regarding the targeted inspection point, whichindicates a need for a verified inspection, and requests feedbackregarding the one of the targeted inspection points. Such an interactiveintervention request may, for example, identify the tie down strap 850and indicate a need for a verified inspection from the results ofcomparing sensor-based inspection information gathered (e.g., cameraimagery) with reference parameters (e.g., a prior image showing aprevious configuration of the tie down strap 850) with a feedbackrequest. Depending on how the system implements such an interactiveintervention request, the feedback request may be automatic and, thus,inherent in any interactive intervention request transmitted by thepaired inspection drone given the drone updates its own inspectionprofile record based on the verification results that follow from theinteractive intervention request.

Upon receipt of the interactive intervention request, thedisplay-enabled transceiver displays a notification related to theinteractive intervention request on the user interface. Such a displayednotification presents information about the potential adverse inspectioncondition regarding the targeted inspection point at issue, the need forthe verified inspection regarding that targeted inspection point. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 18A, the touchscreen user interface 1410 oftransceiver 1735 displays the notification in the form of graphic model1800 representing aircraft 100 and identifying the targeted inspectionpoint related to the interactive intervention request with a highlightedarea 1860 of the aircraft 100 associated with that tie down strap 850.This presents the highlighted area 1860 as a type of user selectableregion of the displayed graphic model 1800 of the aircraft 100.

When the operator of transceiver 1735 selects this region, thetransceiver's user interface detects the selection action and generatesa verification command to be sent to the paired inspection drone. Theverification command may be generated based upon verification inspectioninput received by the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver,which may identify parameters related to the task of obtainingadditional sensor-based inspection information as part of theverification follow-up inspection performed by the paired inspectiondrone. For example, the verification inspection input may includeparameters identifying the type of sensor to be used, the differentvantage points from which the paired inspection drone should bepositioned to gather the additional sensor-based inspection information,and/or different reference information to use when gathering theadditional sensor-based inspection information. In more detail, theparameters identified by the verification inspection input and relatedto the additional sensor-based inspection information may includespecific autonomous or interactive drone control input for the pairedinspection drone that causes the paired inspection drone to gather suchadditional sensor-based inspection information from a set of differentaerial positions relative to and proximate to the inspection point atissue. In an embodiment, the drone control input may put the pairedinspection drone in a given orbit moving around the inspection point. Inanother embodiment, the drone control input may place the pairedinspection drone in specific aerial locations so as to view theinspection point from defined perspectives.

In one embodiment, exemplary verification inspection input may beselectively input using the user interface of the display-enabledtransceiver; but in another embodiment, the verification inspectioninput may be a set of default or customizable default settings andparameters for that inspection point.

Once generated, the display-enabled transceiver transmits theverification command to the paired inspection drone, where the pairedinspection drone initiates the follow-up verification inspection of theinspection point at issue using the parameters included with theverification command. When or as the paired inspection drone obtains theadditional sensor-based inspection information (e.g., using particularsensors as identified by the parameters of the verification command),the paired inspection drone provides the additional sensor-basedinspection information back to the display-enabled transceiver as partof the verified inspection. From there, the display-enabled transceivergenerates information on its display with the additional sensor-basedinspection information. For example, as shown in FIG. 18D, the displayedadditional sensor-based inspection information may include a still image1895 or video images 1890 (e.g., real-time imagery) related to thetargeted inspection point at issue. In a further embodiment, thedisplayed additional sensor-based inspection information may take theform of three-dimensional mapping related information about the targetedinspection point at issue, such as the 3D model 1896 shown in FIG. 18Ethat may be interactively manipulated to review the potential adverseinspection condition found related to the targeted inspection point atissue.

Based upon the presented additional sensor-based inspection informationobtained in this type of follow-up verification inspection using thepaired inspection drone, the display-enabled transceiver receivesverification result input related to or associated with a result of theverified inspection of the one of the targeted inspection points. Forexample, an operator of transceiver 1735 may view the video 1890 orstill image 1895 or manipulate the 3D model 1896 and determine that thetie down strap 850 has not sufficiently moved to cause a problem withsafe operation of the aircraft 100. With this verification result input,the display-enabled transceiver can then transmit the requested feedbackto the paired inspection drone to reflect the operator's determinedresult of the verified inspection.

A further embodiment of a drone-based system for verified inspection ofthe delivery vehicle may extend such an exemplary system to include apaired inspection drone, a drone docking station, and one or moredisplay-enabled transceivers (e.g., one of which may be part of thedelivery vehicle while another may be a mobile interactivedisplay-enable transceiver). A first display-enabled transceiver has aninteractive user interface (such as a touchscreen display 1410) andcommunicates with the paired inspection drone. Similar to what isdescribed above, the system's paired inspection drone (such as PID 1725)is exclusively paired to the delivery vehicle and operative to aeriallyinspect a plurality of targeted inspection points corresponding torespective parts of the delivery vehicle. The paired inspection droneincludes at least a main housing, an onboard controller, a memorystorage, lifting engines, a sensor array, a wireless communicationinterface, and a drone capture interface disposed on the main house thathelps secure the paired inspection drone to the drone docking station.The memory storage is coupled to the onboard controller and maintains aninspection profile record that defines targeted inspection pointscorresponding to respective parts of the delivery vehicle to beinspected. The lifting engines are each coupled with respective liftingrotors, are fixed to different portions of the main housing, and areresponsive to flight control input generated by the onboard controlleras part of maintaining a desired flight profile. The sensor array mayinclude one or more different types of sensors coupled to the onboardcontroller and that (a) detect sensor-based inspection information whilethe paired inspection drone is airborne and has aerially moved relativeto different parts of the delivery vehicle and (b) provide the detectedsensor-based inspection information to the onboard controller. Thewireless communication interface of the paired inspection drone is alsocoupled to the onboard controller, and configured to transmit messages(e.g., an inspection notification message or an interactive interventionrequest message) in response to a transmission command from the onboardcontroller.

The drone docking station (such as docking station 830 shown in at leastFIGS. 8A, 8B, and 17) is fixed to the delivery vehicle. As part of thesystem, the drone docking station provides a physical mating interfaceto the paired inspection drone's drone capture interface. In this way,the drone docking station and the drone capture interface canselectively maintain the paired inspection drone in a secured positionwithin a delivery vehicle, such as within a drone storage area 815 ofaircraft 100.

In operation, the onboard controller of the system's paired inspectiondrone identifies the targeted inspection points from the inspectionprofile record stored within the memory storage, causes the liftingengines to position the paired inspection drone at a first aerialposition proximate to one of the targeted inspection points, and thenproceeds to have one or more sensors detect sensor-based inspectioninformation about the targeted inspection point while the pairedinspection drone is in the first aerial position. If the onboardcontroller of the paired inspection drone automatically identifies apotential adverse inspection condition regarding the targeted inspectionpoint based upon the detected sensor-based inspection information, thecontroller responsively generates and has the wireless communicationinterface transmit the interactive intervention request to the firstdisplay-enabled transceiver. The system's first display-enabledtransceiver (e.g., delivery vehicle transceiver 1735 as shown andexplained relative to FIGS. 17-18E) receives the interactiveintervention request from the paired inspection drone, and responds bydisplaying a notification related to the interactive interventionrequest on the interactive user interface. In particular, the displayednotification includes a highlighted region of a displayed graphic model(such as model 1800) representing the delivery vehicle, where thehighlighted region (such as region 1860) is associated with the targetedinspection point identified in the interactive intervention request. Thesystem's first display-enabled transceiver then generates a prompt onits interactive user interface for the need for the verified inspectionregarding the one of the targeted inspection points. In response tooperator input, the system's first display-enabled transceiver detects aselection action relative to the highlighted region of the displayedgraphic model. Such a selection action indicates the operator's desireto begin the verified inspection of the targeted inspection point thathas the potential adverse inspection condition.

After reviewing additional sensor-based inspection information gatheredas part of the follow-up verified inspection (such as an image relatedto the targeted inspection point, a video related to the targetedinspection point, and/or other sensor-based information such asthree-dimensional mapping information about the targeted inspectionpoint), the interactive user interface of the first display-enabledtransceiver receives verification result input related to a result ofthe verified inspection of the one of the targeted inspection points.Such verification result input may be a detected selection of a buttonor key that indicates the targeted inspection point at issue needsreplacement or maintenance intervention based on the additionalsensor-based inspection information shown to the operator of the firstdisplay-enabled transceiver, or indicates that the targeted inspectionpoint at issue is in a satisfactory condition after the scrutiny of theautomated verification inspection conducted by the paired inspectiondrone and under the enhanced inspection parameters associated with thatverification inspection. Thereafter, the first display-enabledtransceiver then transmits a feedback message to the paired inspectiondrone, where the feedback message corresponds to the result of theverified inspection as reflected by the received verification resultinput.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the first display-enabledtransceiver may be a radio-based interactive transceiver fixed to thedelivery vehicle, such as exemplary delivery vehicle transceiver 1735,or may be a mobile display-enabled transceiver separate from thedelivery vehicle, such as one of transceivers 1200-1210 as describedabove. Each of such exemplary mobile display-enabled transceivers may beused in such a system as directly communicating and interacting with thepaired inspection drone. However, in other embodiments, such as thatshown in FIG. 18F, exemplary mobile display-enabled transceivers may bedeployed as mobile interactive display platforms that rely on andcommunicate with a primary transceiver on the delivery vehicle whenconducting verified inspections of parts.

In more detail and with reference to FIG. 18F showing an extension ofthis system embodiment, the system may include a second mobiledisplay-enabled transceiver (e.g., the mobile ruggedized tablet-basedtransceiver 1210 used by logistics personnel loading aircraft 100) incommunication with the first display-enabled transceiver (e.g., deliveryvehicle transceiver 1735). This second mobile display-enabledtransceiver is physically separate from the delivery vehicle while thefirst display-enabled transceiver is disposed in a control compartmentof the delivery vehicle, such as compartment 105 where flight personneloperate the aircraft 100. In this extended system embodiment, the firstdisplay-enabled transceiver may be programmatically configured toreceive the additional sensor-based inspection information related tothe targeted inspection point at issue directly from the pairedinspection drone and then provide the received additional sensor-basedinspection information to the second mobile display-enabled transceiver.The first display-enabled transceiver may prompt the second mobiledisplay-enabled transceiver for the verification result input based uponat least the additional sensor-based inspection information sent andreceive the verification result input from the second mobiledisplay-enabled transceiver. In doing so, the second mobiledisplay-enabled transceiver has a user interface and allows an operatorof the second mobile display-enabled transceiver to view a display ofthe additional sensor-based inspection information on the user interfaceof the second mobile display-enabled transceiver. In particular, thesecond mobile display-enabled transceiver may generate a usernotification prompting a user of the second mobile display-enabledtransceiver to provide the verification result stemming from theverified inspection of the targeted inspection point at issue. With sucha prompt appearing on the display of the second mobile display-enabledtransceiver, the second mobile display-enabled transceiver receives theverification result input (e.g., yes—the targeted inspection point iswithin range for safe operation of the delivery vehicle or, no—thetargeted inspection point is outside of an acceptable range and needsservices or replacement), and transmits the verification result input tothe first display-enabled transceiver (which may then relay thatverification result back to the paired inspection drone so that thedrone may update the drone's inspection profile record accurately).

Additionally, this extended system embodiment may have the verificationcommand generated by the second display-enabled transceiver and sent tothe paired inspection drone via the first display-enabled transceiver.As part of the verification command, the interactive drone control inputprovided to the paired inspection drone by the first display-enabledtransceiver (as generated by the second mobile display-enabledtransceiver) is based upon remote drone control input provide to thefirst display-enabled transceiver by the second mobile display-enabledtransceiver. In other words, the second mobile display-enabledtransceiver may be responsible for generating interactive drone controlinput remotely through its mobile interactive user interface.

The system embodiments described above may be used as part of adrone-based method embodiment for verified inspection of a deliveryvehicle involving an automatically generated interactive interventionrequest. In more detail, FIGS. 19A-19B are flow diagrams thatcollectively illustrate an exemplary drone-based method for conducting averified inspection of parts of a delivery vehicle that involves anautomatically generated interactive intervention request. Referring nowto FIG. 19A, method 1900 begins at step 1905 where a paired inspectiondrone (PID) exclusively assigned to the delivery vehicle identifiesmultiple targeted inspection points related to the delivery vehicle'sparts from an inspection profile record stored within the PID (such asinspection profile record 945 as explained above). The delivery vehiclemay be implemented as an aircraft (such as aircraft 100), a cargotrailer and related motorized vehicle, a marine vessel, or a railroadcar.

At step 1910, method 1900 has at least one sensor on the PID detectingsensor-based inspection information relative to one of the targetedinspection points once the paired inspection drone has aerially moved toa first aerial position proximate the one of the targeted inspectionpoints. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, PID 1725 moves to an aerialposition proximate the tie down strap 850 and commences to use a camerasensor on PID 1725 to detect imagery inspection information about thecurrent state of the tie down strap 850 as one of the targetedinspection points on aircraft 100.

At step 1915, method 1900 may automatically identify a potential adverseinspection condition related to the targeted inspection point based uponthe detected sensor-based inspection information. More specifically,processing and comparison of the currently detected sensor-basedinspection information for this targeted inspection point may yield aresult that indicates the targeted inspection point is now outside anacceptable range for operation of the delivery vehicle. Thus, if step1915 fails to automatically identify an inspection condition for thetargeted inspection point, step 1915 proceeds directly to step 1920where the PID moves to the next aerial position for gatheringsensor-base inspection information on the next inspection point, andmethod 1900 then proceeds back to step 1910. However, if step 1915 doesautomatically identify an inspection condition based upon thesensor-based inspection information detected (e.g., a comparison of suchsensor-based inspection information to reference information for thetargeted inspection point indicates an out of range situation), step1915 proceeds to step 1925.

At step 1925, the PID responsively transmits the interactiveintervention request to a display-enabled transceiver, which may be partof the delivery vehicle or a mobile interactive radio-based transceiver(such as a wireless enabled tablet device, a smartphone device, or alaptop computer device). In this embodiment, the interactiveintervention request at least identifies the potential adverseinspection condition regarding the one of the targeted inspectionpoints. The interactive intervention request may also indicate a needfor or explicitly request a verified inspection on the targetedinspection point at issue and request feedback regarding that targetedinspection point.

At step 1930, the display-enabled transceiver receives the interactiveintervention request from the PID and then, at step 1935, method 1900has the display-enabled transceiver displaying a notification related tothe interactive intervention request on a user interface of thedisplay-enabled transceiver (e.g., an interactive touchscreen displayinterface). The notification generally presents information on the userinterface about the potential adverse inspection condition regarding theone of the targeted inspection points and the need for the verifiedinspection regarding the one of the targeted inspection points (e.g.,via displaying a graphic model representing the delivery vehicle on theuser interface of the display-enabled transceiver, where the displayedgraphic model identifies the particular targeted inspection point atissue, may highlight an area of the delivery vehicle associated withthat targeted inspection point, and may have the highlighted area of thedelivery vehicle presented as a selectable region of the displayedgraphic model).

At step 1940, method 1900 determines whether the user interface of thedisplay-enabled transceiver has detected a selection action relative tothe selectable region of the displayed graphic model. For example, anoperator of the display-enabled transceiver 1735 or 1210 may touch aparticular section of that transceiver's interactive touchscreeninterface as a selection action. Thus, if the selection action isdetected relative to the selectable region of the model, step 1940proceeds to step 1945. Otherwise, step 1940 proceeds back to step 1935.

At step 1945, the display-enabled transceiver generates a verificationcommand based upon verification inspection input received by thedisplay-enabled transceiver. In particular, the verification inspectioninput received identifies one or more parameters related to theadditional sensor-based inspection information to be gathered by thePID. This may be received via further prompted inputs from the operatorof the transceiver, or may be received as a set of defaults orcustomizable default verification inspection parameters on, for example,what sensors to use, how long to measure the inspection point, whatreference information to use when conducting the verificationinspection, and what the desired aerial position for the PID should bewhen making the verified inspection. Accordingly, such parametersrelated to the additional sensor-based inspection information to begathered as part of the verification inspection may include autonomousor interactive drone control input to be received by the PID from thedisplay-enabled transceiver when the PID is gathering such additionalsensor-based inspection information for the verification inspection.

At step 1950, method 1900 has the PID receiving the verification commandand, in response, repositioning the PID to begin the verified inspectionaccording to the parameters identified in the verification command. Atstep 1955, the sensor or set of sensors on the PID detect the additionalsensor-based inspection information in accordance with the verificationcommand and parameters identified as part of the command. In moredetail, the additional sensor-based inspection information detected mayinclude an image related to the targeted inspection point at issue, avideo related to that targeted inspection point, or real-time imagery ofan area of the delivery vehicle proximate that targeted inspection pointto provide a broader view of the current state of the inspection pointand its surroundings. Further still, the additional sensor-basedinspection information may be three-dimensional mapping informationabout the targeted inspection point at issue, such as the 3D model 1896shown in FIG. 18E where the operator of the display-enabled transceiver1735 can artificially manipulate this 3D image built from the depthsensor mappings of the targeted tie down strap 850 and its surroundingarea. After step 1955, method 1900 transitions through point A on FIG.19A to point A on FIG. 19B.

At step 1960 on FIG. 19B, method 1900 proceeds with the PID transmittingthe additional sensor-based inspection information detected to thedisplay-enabled transceiver. Such a transmission may, in some cases, bea singular event type of transmission. But in other cases and with othertypes of data, the transmission may be repeated, periodic, or streamingdepending on the extent of inspection information desired for thisverification inspection. For example, still images may be transmitted byPID back to the display-enabled transceiver one by one or in groups,while video information may be transmitted to the display-enabledtransceiver in a streaming format where it may be buffered on thedisplay-enabled transceiver or as a single video recording file.Three-dimensional mapping information may also be transmitted by the PIDin parts as the depth sensor is detecting the mapping information or ina final group of three-dimensional mapping information after the PIDperforms the necessary aerial maneuvers relative to the targetedinspection point to capture depth information on the point itself andthe surrounding area.

At step 1965, the display-enabled transceiver has received theadditional sensor-based inspection information from the verificationinspection and displays the additional sensor-based inspectioninformation relative to the targeted inspection point at issue inresponse to the detected selection action relative to the selectableregion of the displayed graphic model. Thus, if the selection action hadthe verification inspection to be performed on tie down strap 850, thedisplay-enabled transceiver displays the additional sensor-basedinspection on the tie down strap 850 (e.g., still images of the tie downstrap 850 from an increased number and variety of different cameraangles; video of the tie down strap 850 from one or more camera angles;or a 3D model representing the tie down strap 850 and the proximate areanear the strap 850 on packaged shipping item 845 and cargo attachmentpoints 852).

At step 1970, method 1900 may determine if verification result input hasbeen received on the user interface of the display-enabled transceiver,where the verification result input relates to a result of the verifiedinspection of the one of the targeted inspection points. For example,the verification result input may be provided by the operator of thedisplay-enabled transceiver that is essentially an “intervening” partyjudging the results of the verification inspection. Such verificationresult input may reflect or indicate that the particular targetedinspection point at issue is fine and can still be used on the deliveryor, alternatively, may reflect or indicate that the particular targetedinspection point at issue has been confirmed or otherwise verified to bein an adverse inspection condition where it is out of range for safe ordesired operation of the delivery vehicle.

At step 1975, method 1900 may have the display-enabled transceivertransmitting feedback to the PID, where the feedback corresponds to theresult of the verified inspection as reflected by the verificationresult input received by the display-enabled transceiver. At step 1980,the PID may receive the feedback and then, at step 1985, modify theinspection profile record to reflect the feedback on the verificationresult input. Thus, the inspection profile record may be updated withthe result of the verification inspection so that the inspection profilerecord keeps a record of what happened relative to inspections of thisparticular targeted inspection point. Thereafter, step 1985 transitionsthrough point B on FIG. 19B back to point B on FIG. 19A where method1900 continues at step 1920 to move on to the next targeted inspectionpoint.

Airborne Relocatable Communication Hub Using a Paired CommunicationDrone

As explained above, an exemplary delivery vehicle may temporarilymaintain custody of items being shipped that are broadcast-enabled. Inmore detail, an embodiment of such a broadcast-enabled item has anassociated radio-based device that is configured to communicate withother broadcast-enabled items maintained within the delivery vehicle orradio-based devices external to the delivery vehicle. However, thebroadcast-enabled device may encounter issues with having a limitedreception or transmission range. In other words, while twobroadcast-enabled items adjacent one another may have no issuecommunicating with each other, two broadcast-enabled items physicallyseparated from each other by a large enough distance within the deliveryvehicle may experience communication difficulties due to inconsistentreception to no reception at all given their respective transmission andreception ranges and the dynamic movement of structure being placedwithin the delivery vehicle (e.g., placement of one or more metalcontainers or other items that may shield or otherwise attenuate signalsbeing transmitted a broadcast-enabled item from one side of suchstructure to another broadcast-enabled item on the other side). Forexample, a package outfitted with a broadcast-enabled radio transceiverfor monitoring the package's contents may be located in the rear of thedelivery vehicle's internal shipment storage. This particularbroadcast-enabled package may have a limited communication range, and beunable to communicate with other broadcast-enabled items or a centralcommunication station located at the front of the delivery vehicle'sinternal shipment storage. This inability to communicate with otherdevices on the delivery vehicle may become even more acute when thebroadcast-enabled radio transceiver in the package uses low broadcastpower as a way of conserving battery life or when the broadcast-enabledradio transceiver is designed to be low power, such as a Bluetooth® LowEnergy (BLE) radio or ZigBee radio transceiver.

To help unconventionally and adaptively facilitate communication betweensuch broadcast-enabled devices and so they may handle longer distancesbetween devices as they are disposed within the delivery vehicle and toaccommodate the changing internal environment of the delivery vehicle,embodiments described below generally deploy an aerial communicationdrone that is exclusively paired with the delivery vehicle and operatesin an airborne mode within the delivery vehicle (such as within aninternal shipment storage area of the delivery vehicle). This type ofexclusively paired drone is advantageously used within the deliveryvehicle as a repositionable communication hub to improve the onboardcommunication environment for what is being transported within thedelivery vehicle and for what may be a changing communicationenvironment. Accordingly, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 20-27 anddescribed below provide a technical solution with systems and methodsthat improve how different broadcast-enabled devices within a deliveryvehicle can establish and maintain adequate communications with eachother using a paired aerial communication hub drone strategicallydeployed within the delivery vehicle.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an exemplary paired aerial drone-based systemused to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub within adelivery vehicle for broadcast-enabled devices maintained within thedelivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring now to FIG. 20, exemplary aircraft 100 (a type of deliveryvehicle) has an exemplary control compartment 105 and an exemplaryshipment storage 110. As explained above, the exemplary shipment storage110 includes interior shipment storage area 120 and drone storage area115. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 20, a vehicle transceiver 2135 isdisposed within the control compartment 105, an internal docking station2130 is disposed within the drone storage area 115, and an aerialcommunication drone 2125 is shown as flying within the interior shipmentstorage area 120 but may be secured on docking station 2130 when notflying. Aerial communication drone 2125 is exclusively paired to theaircraft 100 and is also referred to as a paired communication hub droneor PHD herein.

In general, vehicle transceiver 2135 of FIG. 20 is a type of centralcommunication station on the aircraft 100 and may be implemented as astandalone radio-based unit or an integrated part of the aircraft'savionics suite. Vehicle transceiver 2135 may be used in embodiments as anetwork element that may communicate with devices located inside ofaircraft 100 (such as broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e) anddevices located outside of aircraft 100. For example, vehicletransceiver 2135 may communicate externally disposed radio-basedcommunication devices, such as a local logistics operation server thathas a wireless network interface (not shown), a remote cloud-basedlogistics management system (i.e., a network of remote servers hosted onthe Internet that can store, manage, and process shipment managementinformation (such as updated sensor data related to the status ofbroadcast-enabled shipping items on aircraft 100, and the like))accessible through a wireless network interface (not shown), or flightoperations personnel via other radio-based transceivers (such ashandheld transceiver 2300 shown in FIG. 23). In more detail, suchradio-based transceivers that communicate with broadcast-enabled deviceswithin the delivery vehicle 100 may be implemented as wireless handhelddevices (such as smartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHF handheldradios, and the like) that communicate with vehicle transceiver 2135over a compatible communication path (e.g., a designated radiofrequency, a cellular network, a data communication network, and thelike). Additionally, an embodiment of exemplary vehicle transceiver 2135shown in FIG. 20 may be used to communicate with internal dockingstation 2130 (e.g., via a wired or wireless connection) and/or PHD 2125(e.g., via a wireless connection) disposed within aircraft 100 asdescribed in more detail below. Further still, exemplary vehicletransceiver 2135 may provide an intermediary role between two otherdevices, such as between the PHD 2125 and a local server or a remotecloud-based logistics management system.

As noted above, exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 emay communicate with each other and with exemplary vehicle transceiver2135 in an embodiment. In general, exemplary broadcast-enabled shippingitems 145 a-145 e may include packaged or unpackaged items beingtransported alone or as part of a group of items (e.g., the group ofitems 145 b-145 e strapped and fixed relative to shipping pallet 150 ora group of items maintained within a single packaged shipping item, suchas a crate, box, or other logistics container). Likewise, those skilledin the art will appreciate that a shipping item may be implemented witha unit load device (ULD) used with aircraft-based logistics operationsand, when equipped with a broadcast-enabled device, exemplary ULD 2145becomes a type of broadcast-enabled shipping item.

Exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e as well asexemplary broadcast-enabled ULD 2145 (a type of broadcast-enabledshipping container) may be deployed in some embodiments within interiorshipment storage area 120 as intercommunicating devices. For example,such broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e and exemplarybroadcast-enabled ULD 2145 may be configured, via their respectiveradios, to broadcast signals related to the condition of the respectiveitem or items being shipped and function as different network elementsat different levels of a hierarchically structured communicationnetwork. Exemplary broadcast-enabled shipping items 145 a-145 e and ULD2145 may accomplish such broadcast functionality with a radio-basedwireless transmitter or transceiver and that can broadcast messagesabout, for example, the condition of item (e.g., an environmentalcondition of the item using one or more sensors on the device) withoutbeing polled or interrogated to do so. In particular, such radio-baseddevices deployed as part of the broadcast-enabled shipping items 145a-145 e and ULD 2145 may, for example, transmit or receive Bluetooth®,Zigbee, cellular, or other wireless formatted signals. Such devices maybe attached or otherwise secured to the shipping item, included in apackage with the shipping item, or embedded as part of the package orpackaging material used with the shipping item.

Exemplary internal docking station 2130 shown in FIG. 20 is structurallysimilar to internal docking stations 130 and 830 described above andshown relative to FIGS. 4A and 4B. As such, docking station 2130 uses aphysical docking interface (similar to PDI 415) that facilitatesmaintaining PHD 2125 in a secure position on the station 2130, anelectronic charging connection interface (similar to ECCI 440) that canprovide power to PHD 2125, and an electronic data connection interface(similar to EDCI 435) that can provide a wired bi-direction data linkwith PHD 2125. Docking station 2130 may also be implemented tocommunicate with vehicle transceiver 2135—e.g., via a wired dataconnection (similar to the wired connection of communication interface430) to transceiver 2135 and/or a wireless communication path (accessedvia a similar wireless interface part of communication interface 430) tovehicle transceiver 2135. Thus, docking station 2130 may be deployed asyet another type of broadcast-enabled device that operates as a networkelement of networked broadcast-enabled devices.

Exemplary PHD 2125 shown in FIG. 20 may be initially secured toexemplary docking station 2130 within the drone storage area 115 as alinked part of aircraft 100. In general, PHD 2125 is a paired aerialcommunication drone that travels with the aircraft 100 (or other type ofdelivery vehicle, such as a trailer hauled by a truck, a train car movedby a locomotive on a railway system, or a marine vessel that has aninternal storage compartment or hold for transporting broadcast-enableditems). Furthermore, exemplary PID 2125 is configured with hardwaresimilar to IMD 125 and PID 825 (as described above) with the exceptionof the sensors carried on IMD 125 and PID 825, which are basicallyreplaced with a wireless communication hub interface that can establishone or more wireless data communication paths to differentbroadcast-enabled devices within the aircraft 100, such as to ULD 2145and BESI 145 d. In this way, PHD 2125 operates as an airbornerelocatable communication hub deployed within such a delivery vehiclethat enhances how broadcast-enabled devices may communicate while beingmaintained within the delivery vehicle and as the interior configurationof the shipment storage of the delivery vehicle changes with new itemsthat may inhibit or interfere with communications between suchbroadcast-enabled devices.

In more detail, as shown in FIG. 21, exemplary PHD 2125 includes similarcore parts as explained and shown for IMD 125 and PID 825, such as amain housing 200, an onboard controller (OBC) 2100 disposed within themain housing, a memory storage 315 coupled to the OBC 2100, and multiplelifting engines 210 a, 210 b that are coupled with respective liftingrotors 205 a, 205 b fixed to a different portions of the main housing200. Each of the lifting engines on PID 2125 is responsive to flightcontrol input generated by the OBC 2100 as part of maintaining a desiredflight profile according to flight profile data 2155. As part of theexemplary PHD 2125, the OBC 2100 generally controls autonomous flyingand docking of the drone 2125 as well as communication hub managementtasks related to broadcast-enabled devices located within the shipmentstorage area 120 using multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160 and communication hub management program 2150.

In some embodiments, OBC 2100 may be implemented with a singleprocessor, multi-core processor, or multiple processors and havedifferent programs concurrently running to manage and control thedifferent autonomous flying/docking and internal communication hubmanagement tasks. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 21,flight/docking control and monitoring operations may be divided betweenonboard flight controller (OFC) 305 and an onboard communicationmanagement processor (OCP) 2110. In such an embodiment, OFC 305 and OCP2110 may have access to the same memory, such as memory storage 315 or,alternatively, OBC 2100 may be implemented with separate dedicatedmemories that are accessible by each of OFC 305 and OCP 2110. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that memory accessible by OFC 305 mayhave different accessibility and size requirements compared to memoryaccessible by OCP 2110 given the different memory demands for thedifferent responsibilities. Furthermore, OFC 305 and OCP 2110 mayinclude peripheral interface circuitry that couples the processingelement(s) to the different onboard peripheral circuitry, such as theGPS 350, inertial measurement unit 355, the proximity sensors 215 a, 215b, the electronic speed controllers 360 a, 360 b that control eachlifting engine 210 a, 210 b, and the like.

In general, exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160includes multiple independent radio-based transceivers controlled by theOBC 2100 (e.g., by OCP 2110 when executing the communication hugmanagement program 2150) that collectively provide a communicationaccess and extension functionality between two or more broadcast-enableddevices. Essentially, the OBC 2100 is configured to cause interface 2160to establish different wireless data communication paths with differentbroadcast-enabled devices so that the interface 2160 may couple thepaths with the broadcast-enabled devices so as to allow the devices toconnect and communicate. Such connections may appear as peer-to-peerconnections for devices at the same network level or wireless accesspoint connections to a higher network level in a hierarchicallystructured communication network. For example, an exemplarymulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 to be used duringflight of the PHD 2125 may be implemented with a MIMO type (multiple in,multiple out, multiple antenna technology) communication transceiverdisposed on PHD 2125 and coupled to the OBC 2100. Such an exemplarymulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 may use one or moredifferent communication protocols, such as a Wi-Fi communicationprotocol (e.g., supporting an IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n and 802.11acstandard), a cellular communication protocol, a Bluetooth® communicationprotocol, or a Zigbee communication protocol. When coupling differentprotocols, the multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 usesan onboard protocol converter (implemented in hardware or firmware) totransform communications of data and commands (including coding,framing, and timing) between the distinct protocols. Using such aconverter, the exemplary multi-transceiver communication hub interface2160 may bridge communications between different broadcast-enableddevices even when the devices use different communication protocols intheir respective paths to the PHD 2125.

Referring back to FIG. 21 and consistent with the discussions aboverelative to IMD 125 and PID 825, the operating system 320 stored in PHD2125 may provide basic functions, such as program task scheduling,executing of application program code (such as exemplary communicationhub management program 2160), and controlling lower level circuitry(e.g., registers, buffers, buses, counters, timers, and the like) on OCP2110 that interface with other peripheral circuitry onboard PHD 2125(such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160,proximity sensors 215 a, 215 b, the electronic docking connection 235,GPS 350, IMU 355, ESC 360 a, 360 b, and DCI 370).

Once operating system 320 is loaded, exemplary communication hubmanagement program 2160 may load and be executed as part of implementinga method for adaptively deploying an airborne relocatable communicationhub within a delivery vehicle, such as aircraft 100, that improvescommunication between broadcast-enabled devices maintained within thedelivery vehicle. Exemplary communication hub management program 2150 isa set of executable instructions in the form of one or moremachine-readable, non-transient program code modules or applications.The program code module(s) may be loaded and executed by OBC 2100 (or byOCP 2110 when flight control is dedicated to a separate OFC 305) toadapt the PHD 2125 into an unconventionally configured aerialcommunication hub apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft 100 as alinked part of the aircraft that travels with the aircraft duringshipment operations providing quick and assured inspection functionalityfor the aircraft wherever the aircraft is located. This speciallyconfigured OBC 2100 of PHD 2125, as described in more detail herein as apart of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and providesfunctionality that is unconventional, especially when the overall stepsthat provide extended communication access functionality using the PHD2125 are considered collectively as a whole. Such a specially adaptedand configured paired communication hub drone (e.g., PHD 2125) helps, asa part of an embodiment, to improve how broadcast-enabled devices on thedelivery vehicle (e.g., radio-based transceivers associated withshipping items (such as the transceivers in BESI 145 a-145 e) andassociated with shipping containers (such as the transceiver in ULD2145)) communicate with each other while being disposed in the deliveryvehicle and as the storage within the delivery vehicle may changepresenting further difficulties to maintaining adequate communicationsbetween such devices.

In addition to the exemplary communication hub management program 2150,memory storage 315 of PHD 2125 also maintains flight profile data 2155.Flight profile data 2155 comprises information that defines how the PHD2125 is to be flying. This data may include navigational data on anairborne monitoring path for the drone 2125 to transit, as well asflight control setting information to use when generating flight controlinput for the ESCs 360 a, 360 b. In some embodiments, remote flightcontrol commands may be received by PHD 2125 and kept as a type offlight profit data 2155 that provides the OFC 305 with flight controlinput to control aerial movement of the PHD 2125. In other embodiments,OFC 305 is able to generate the flight control input autonomously toenable the PHD 2125 to self-control aerial movements of the aerialcommunication drone from the secured position on the internal dockingstation to at least the first deployed airborne position. Thus, PHD 2125maintains and uses flight profile data 2155 as part of moving about theinterior 110 of aircraft 100 when providing relocatable communicationhub services for broadcast-enabled devices maintained on aircraft 100.

Using components shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 and described above, anexemplary embodiment may be described in more detail of an airbornedrone-based system that adaptively provides communication hub serviceswithin a delivery vehicle. In particular, such an exemplary systemadaptively provides communication hub services within the deliveryvehicle to broadcast-enabled devices maintained within the deliveryvehicle and essentially includes internal docking station 2130 and PHD2125 as described above. In operation, the OBC 2100 of PHD 2125 executesat least the communication hub management program 2150 in order toadaptively provide such relocatable communication hub services withinthe aircraft 100 (as a type of delivery vehicle). In more detail, theOBC 2100 of PHD 2125 is configured and operative to transition from atleast a low power state to an active power state and then cause the DCI370 of PHD 2125 to automatically uncouple PHD 2125 from a securedposition on the internal docking station 2130 fixed within the deliveryvehicle 100 once the PHD 2125 transitions to the active power state. TheOBC 2100 of PHD 2125 (or OFC 305 of PHD 2125) changes the desired flightprofile to cause the lifting engines 210 a, 210 b to move PHD 2125 fromthe secured position on the internal docking station 2130 to a deployedairborne position within an interior shipment storage area 120 of theaircraft 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, exemplary PHD 2125 hasmoved from being secured to docking station 2130 to being airborne at adeployed position within the internal shipment storage area 120 ofaircraft 100 located above and between ULD 2145 and BESI 145 d. Such amovement from the docking station 2130 to an airborne deployed positionwithin and relative to aircraft 100 may occur when aircraft 100 is inmotion (e.g., during taxi on the ground or when airborne) or when theaircraft 100 is not moving (e.g., is being loaded, unloaded, or justsitting on the tarmac of an airport).

Once at this deployed position relative to the aircraft 100, the OBC2100 of PHD 2125 causes its onboard communication hub interface 2160 toestablish a first wireless data communication path to one of thebroadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft 100—such as thebroadcast-enabled device associated with UDL 2145 (denoted by thetriangular symbol within ULD 2145). The OBC 2100 of PHD 2125 then causesits onboard communication hub interface 2160 to establish a secondwireless data communication path to another of the broadcast-enableddevices on the aircraft 100—such as the broadcast-enabled deviceassociated with BESI 145 d. Thereafter, the OBC 2100 of PHD 2125 causesits onboard communication hub interface 2160 to couple the firstwireless data communication path and the second wireless datacommunication path. This has a tangible result of adaptivelyfacilitating communications between the broadcast-enabled device on ULD2145 and the broadcast-enabled device associated with BESI 145 d. Thismay be especially advantageous because, for example, directcommunications between the broadcast-enabled device on ULD 2145 and thebroadcast-enabled device associated with BESI 145 d may not be possiblegiven the respective devices may be geographically separated by a largeenough distance relative to their respective transmission and receptionranges. Furthermore, in another example, direct communication betweenthe broadcast-enabled device on ULD 2145 and the broadcast-enableddevice associated with BESI 145 d may be hindered or rendered impossiblewhen BESI 145 a is placed in-between ULD 245 and BESI 145 d (e.g., adynamic change in the configuration occurs with respect to what ismaintained within the shipment storage area 120, which may alter thecommunication environment and related connectivity for differentbroadcast-enabled devices within area 120).

FIG. 22 is a diagram of another exemplary paired aerial drone-basedsystem used to provide an airborne relocatable communication hub withina delivery vehicle between other types of broadcast-enabled deviceswithin aircraft 100. Referring now to FIG. 22, the illustrated exemplarypaired aerial drone-based system includes a central communicationstation 2200 disposed within aircraft 100 that may communicate withvehicle transceiver 2135 (similar to basic transceiver 135 or displayenabled interactive vehicle transceiver 1335 as described above).Central communication station 2200 may be deployed is this embodiment asa hub that may forward data from vehicle transceiver 2135 or as a hub toan external communication device (not shown), such as a satellite orother remote communication transceiver. Further, central communicationstation 2200 may be used to directly communicate with any of thebroadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft 100 (such as BESI 145 d asshown in FIG. 22), but may also interact with PHD 2125 when directcommunication with BESI 145 d is hindered or not possible. As such,central communication station 2200 may operate as one of thebroadcast-enabled devices on aircraft 100 and the OBC 2100 of PHD 2125causes its onboard communication hub interface 2160 to couple a wirelessdata communication path with the central communication station 2200 witha second wireless data communication path established with anotherbroadcast-enabled device (such as BESI 145 d shown in FIG. 22).Likewise, another embodiment may deploy vehicle transceiver 2135 as oneof the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft that communicates withBESI 145 d via two wireless data communication paths adaptivelyestablished and coupled by PHD 2125.

FIGS. 23A and 23B are diagrams of another exemplary paired aerialdrone-based system used to provide an airborne relocatable communicationhub within aircraft 100 where at least one of the broadcast-enableddevices maintained within the aircraft 100 is a mobile personalcommunication device 2300 in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring now to FIG. 23A in particular, the illustratedembodiment may deploy mobile personal communication device 2300 as oneof the broadcast-enabled devices on the aircraft 1000 that communicateswith BESI 145 d via two wireless data communication paths adaptivelyestablished and coupled by PHD 2125. An exemplary mobile personalcommunication device 2300 may be implemented similar to radio-basedtransceivers 1200, 1205, and 1210 as described above. As such, forexample, the mobile personal communication device 2300 shown in FIG. 23Amay be implemented as a ruggedized radio-based tablet or smartphone usedby aircraft crew personnel and carried with them while performing dutieswithin aircraft 100.

However, changes in the configuration of what is stored within aircraft100 may dynamically create undesirable communication environments thatfurther hinder communications along the coupled first and secondwireless communications paths that are coupled by PHD 2125. For example,as shown in FIG. 23B, aircraft 100 may receive BESI 145 a, which hasbeen placed between BESI 145 d and mobile personal communication device2300 (operating as an exemplary broadcast-enabled device). The materialmaking up BESI 145 a may, as a result, cause attenuation and shieldingrelative to the communication path established between PHD 2125 and BESI145 d. Thus, a further system embodiment may have PHD 2125 adaptivelyreposition itself upon detecting such a change in the configuration ofwhat is stored within aircraft 100. In more detail, the OBC 2100 of PHD2125 may be operative and configured to cause the multi-transceivercommunication hub interface 2160 to actively monitor the strength ofcommunications received from the different coupled broadcast-enableddevices (such as mobile personal communication device 2300 and/or BESI145 d) so that PHD 2125 may detect any change in such signal strengths.When a sufficient change in signal strength is detected relative to oneof the broadcast-enabled devices, PHD 2125 may then responsively controlits lifting engines 210 a, 210 b to move itself from an initial airbornedeployed position to a different airborne position where PHD 2125 canbetter communicate with the broadcast-enabled device experiencing a dropin signal strength (e.g., such as BESI 145 d after BESI 145 a has beenplaced between ULD 2145 and BESI 145 d). Thus, as shown in FIG. 23B, PHD2125 may move and re-position itself as part of such a system embodimentto provide further adaptive communication hub services to differentbroadcast-enabled devices on aircraft 100 based upon a detect change inthe configuration of what is stored within the delivery vehicle.

In another embodiment, both of the broadcast-enabled devices may bemobile personal communication devices and one or more of them may bemoving in the delivery vehicle. Here, for example and as shown in FIG.24, one of the mobile personal communication devices 2300 may be locatedwithin the control compartment 105 of the aircraft 100 while the othermobile personal communication device 2400 may be moving within theshipment storage area 120 of aircraft 100. This may occur, for example,when the operator of mobile personal communication device 2400 conductsa pre-flight or in-flight inspection of what is stored within area 120.As the operator of mobile personal communication device 2400 moveswithin the storage area 120, direct communications between mobilepersonal communication device 2400 and mobile personal communicationdevice 2300 may become hindered or otherwise problematic. In thissituation, PHD 2125 may relocate to a different deployed airborneposition within the interior of the aircraft 100; establish a wirelessdata communication path to each of the mobile personal communicationdevices 2300 and 2400; and couple the different wireless datacommunication paths as part of providing a relocatable airbornecommunication hub service for devices 2300 and 2400. This differentdeployed position may continue to be updated as one or more of thedevices move (e.g., by monitoring signal strengths from each of devices2300 and 2400). Thus, instead of losing communication between device2300 and 2400 as the operator of device 2400 moves further back into theinternal shipment storage area 120 (where more and more shieldingstructure may be placed between devices 2300 and 2400), this type ofsystem embodiment that deploys at least a docking station 2130 and PHD2125 may provide a technical airborne solution within the aircraft 100to avoid lost communications.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may deploy apaired aerial communication drone (such as PHD 2125) as part of anetwork of communicating devices that may have different network levelsand where the paired communication drone provides bridging and upperlevel access point types of functionality as part of the network. Forexample, FIG. 25A is a logical diagram illustrating a network levelconfiguration of two such communicating devices—i.e., an exemplarypaired aerial communication drone and multiple broadcast-enabled devicesmaintained within a delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. As shown in FIG. 25A, the broadcast-enabled devices BESI145 a with BESI 145 d are logically disposed at a same network level ofa hierarchically structured communication network, but may besufficiently physically separate so that they are unable to reliablycommunicate directly with each other or may have structure between themthat degrades the electronic reception of one or both of them. As such,an embodiment may have broadcast-enabled devices BESI 145 a and BESI 145d each being in communication with each other via different wirelesscommunication paths established and coupled together by PHD 2125. Thus,BESI 145 d and BESI 145 a are in a peer-to-peer relationship at the samenetwork level of the hierarchically structured communication network,but rely upon the airborne relocatable communication hub servicesprovided by PHD 2125 to realize this peer-to-peer relationship andcommunicate with each other.

In another example, the broadcast-enabled devices may be logicallydisposed at different network levels of a hierarchically structuredcommunication network. For example, as shown in FIG. 25B, mobilepersonal communication device 2300 may be disposed at a higher level ofthe hierarchically structure communication network of broadcast-enableddevices than BESI 145 d. In this example configuration of the devices,PHD 2125 may also be deployed at the higher level and be disposed as toprovide airborne relocatable communication hub services to establishdifferent wireless communication paths to device 2300 as well as to BESI145 d, and to couple the communication paths together to allow device2300 and BESI 145 d to communicate while being on different networklevels. As such, PHD 2125 may operate as a type of wireless access pointfor BESI 145 d on the lower level of the network so that BESI 145 d cancommunicate with one or more devices at higher levels in the network.

In the example shown in FIG. 25C, PHD 2125 may be deployed at the lowerlevel but provide airborne relocatable communication hub services toestablish different wireless communication paths to centralcommunication station 2200 (on the higher network level) and to BESI 145d (on the lower network level), and to couple the communication pathstogether to allow central communication station 2200 and BESI 145 d tocommunicate while being on different network levels but with PHD 2125operating as more of a bridging extension device to extendcommunications out to BESI 145 d on the same lower network level. Assuch, the central communication station 2200 may operate as a type ofwireless access point for BESI 145 d (as coupled through PHD 2125operating as an airborne relocatable communication bridge to BESI 145d).

Beyond moving PHD 2125 to accommodate changes in the configuration ofwhat is stored within the storage area 120 of aircraft 100 or movementof at least one of the different broadcast-enabled devices that PHD 2125may provide adaptive airborne communication hub services to, furtherembodiments may provide systems and methods that provide an airbornerelocatable communication hub within the aircraft 100 for more than twobroadcast-enabled devices. For example, FIGS. 26A and 26B areperspective diagrams showing an exemplary paired aerial communicationdrone (e.g., PHD 2125) at a first deployed airborne position within adelivery vehicle and amidst multiple broadcast-enabled devicesmaintained within the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodimentof the invention. Referring now to FIG. 26A, exemplary PHD 2125 is shownin a first deployed airborne position within the aircraft 100 withestablished communications with ULD 2145 and BESI 145 a that are thencoupled so that ULD 2145 and BESI 145 a may communicated.

However, as shown in FIG. 26B, the onboard controller of PHD 2125 maycause PHD 2125 to move so as to accommodate providing aerialcommunication hub services to one or more of BESI 145 c and/or BESI 145d. In more detail, the embodiment shown in FIG. 26B has the onboardcontroller of the PHD 2125 programmatically operating (e.g., byexecuting the communication hub management program 2150) to change thedesired flight profile for PHD 2125 to causing its lifting engines 210a, 210 b to move PHD 2125 from the first deployed airborne positionwithin the interior of the aircraft 100 to a second deployed airborneposition closer to at least one of BESI 145 c and/or BESI 145 d. Whileat this second deployed airborne position, the onboard controller of PHD2125 then causes its communication hub interface 2160 to establish athird wireless data communication path to a third of thebroadcast-enabled devices within the aircraft 100, such as BESI 145 c.Thereafter, PHD 2125 has its communication hub interface 2160 couple theestablished wireless data communication path with BESI 145 c to one ormore of ULD 2145 and/or BESI 145 a.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, airborne communication hub servicesmay be provided to more than three broadcast-enabled devices using PHD2125. For example, the onboard controller of PHD may cause itscommunication hub interface 2160 to establish a fourth wireless datacommunication path to a fourth of the broadcast-enabled devices withinthe aircraft 100, such as BESI 145 d. Thereafter, PHD 2125 has itscommunication hub interface 2160 couple the established wireless datacommunication path with BESI 145 d to one or more of ULD 2145, BESI 145a, and/or BESI 145 c. In this way, PHD 2125 may move to adaptivelyfacilitate wireless communications amongst different ones of three ormore broadcast-enabled devices as an airborne communication hubplatform.

In more detail, the PHD 2125 may move to go within range of the other aspart of moving on an airborne communication path of waypoints, or inresponse to a change in what power is received from a particulartransmitting BESI (e.g., when structure is moved to cause interferenceor shielding of between the BESI and the PHD).

As the PHD 2125 establishes wireless communication paths to differentbroadcast-enabled devices, its onboard communication hub interface 2160may also collect data generated on of the broadcast-enabled devices andretransmit the collected data to another of the broadcast-enableddevices as part of its aerial communication hub services. Such collecteddata may include scan data generated by a scanner on thebroadcast-enabled device (e.g., scan data related to what is containedwithin with a shipping container associated with the broadcast-enableddevice), sensor data generated by one or more sensors on thebroadcast-enabled devices (e.g., temperature, moisture, or otherenvironmental data sensed by an onboard broadcast-enabled devicesassociated with a packaged item being shipped), and shared datagenerated in a memory on a broadcast-enabled device representinginformation provided to that broadcast-enabled device by anotherbroadcast-enabled device.

In a further embodiment of systems and methods for adaptively providingcommunication hub services within a delivery vehicle using an aerialcommunication drone (such as PHD 2125), the system may use a type oftether for flight control. In particular, a system embodiment mayinclude the delivery vehicle, an aerial communication drone paired tothe delivery vehicle (such as PHD 2125 as described above), plus a basecontroller and tether. The base controller (such as base controller 1000as similarly shown in FIG. 10) is fixed to the delivery vehicle andprovides flight commands to the onboard controller on the aerialcommunication drone through a tether linking the base controller and theaerial communication drone. In more detail, such a control tether mayprovide an electrical conduit for data (e.g., flight control data orflight commands) and power related to the aerial communication drone. Anexemplary control tether may provide a fiber optic conduit, which allowsfor movement of information from the aerial communication drone to thebase controller. For example, such a control tether having a fiber opticconduit may allow image type of sensor-based inspection information(e.g., video feed data stream or still image pictures) to be moved orotherwise transferred from the aerial communication drone to the basecontroller. In more detail, the aerial communication drone may include acontrol receiver coupled to the onboard controller, where the controlreceiver has an input connected to the control tether. The controlreceiver as deployed on such an aerial communication drone is configuredand operative to receive, for example, a flight command from the basecontroller on the input and pass the received flight command to theonboard controller (such as the OFC 305 part of the OBC 2100 in PHD2125), which then may generate the flight control input for the liftingengines based upon the received flight command.

In another detailed example, the onboard controller of the aerialcommunication drone (such as the OFC 305 part of the OBC 2100 in PHD2125) may responsively generate landing control input for the liftingengines 210 a, 210 b if the aerial communication drone detects that thecontrol tether is broken. In response to detecting the tether is broken(e.g., an anticipated signal or signal level is not received by thecontrol receiver on the drone from the base controller), the landingcontrol input generated by the aerial communication drone facilitatesand causes the drone to return to the internal docking station andsecuring of the drone capture interface on the drone (e.g., DCI 370 onPHD 2125) to the physical docking interface of the internal dockingstation. Alternatively, the landing control input generated whendetecting the tether is broken may have the drone land in a designatedpart of the delivery vehicle and wirelessly broadcast a messageindicating so, which may be received by vehicle transceiver 2135 ormobile device 2300.

In still another embodiment, the aerial communication may furtherinclude a restrictive tether connected to the aerial communication droneand to the delivery vehicle. In this manner, the restrictive tether mayplace a control on where the aerial communication drone moves and, as aresult, limit movement of the aerial communication drone. Such arestrictive tether may help to avoid unintentional collisions withobjects within the delivery vehicle or act as a fallback physicalbarrier to help limit overlap if an embodiment has multiple aerialcommunication drones active within the same delivery vehicle.

Thus, various system embodiments have been described that rely on anaerial communication drone (such as PHD 2125) when adaptively providingcommunication hub services to one or a multitude of similar or differenttypes of broadcast-enabled devices. Some system embodiments may includethe PHD and its associated docking station, while other systemembodiments may include the delivery vehicle and its paired PHD. Furthersystem embodiments that provide similar adaptive communication hubservices within a delivery vehicle may include the PHD and the deliveryvehicle transceiver, which may operate as one of the broadcast-enableddevices and provide a communication path outside of the vehicle for thePHD and the other of the broadcast-enabled devices (see FIG. 22).Indeed, still another system embodiment may include the PHD (such as PHD2125), a central communication station disposed within the deliveryvehicle (such as central communication station 2200) where the centralcommunication station may provide a communication path outside of thevehicle for the PHD and other broadcast-enabled devices coupled to thePHD.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary aerial drone-basedmethod for providing an airborne relocatable communication hub within adelivery vehicle for a plurality of broadcast-enabled devices maintainedwithin the delivery vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. As discussed above, an exemplary delivery vehicle may be anaircraft (such as aircraft 100), a trailer capable of being moved by atruck, a train car capable of being moved on a railway system, a marinevessel, or an automotive vehicle (such as a delivery van). And as alsodiscussed above, exemplary broadcast-enabled devices that may use thepaired aerial communication drone in such a method may come in differentforms, such as an RF transceiver-based device (e.g., a transceiver-basedZigbee device that communicates using IEEE 802.15 formattedcommunications, a transceiver-based Wi-Fi device that communicates usingIEEE 802.11 formatted communications, and the like), a centralcommunication station on the delivery vehicle, a delivery vehicletransceiver disposed in a control compartment (e.g., a cockpit, truckcab, etc.) of the delivery vehicle, a broadcast-enabled shippingcontainer maintained within the delivery vehicle, a broadcast-enablednetwork device associated with an item being shipped within the deliveryvehicle, or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., wirelesshandheld devices such as smartphones, ruggedized tablets, UHF/VHFhandheld radios, and the like). In this method embodiment, consistentwith the systems and system components described above, thebroadcast-enabled devices that may be coupled by the paired aerialcommunication drone may be geographically separated and incapable ofdirect communication with each other without the first wireless datacommunication path and the second wireless data communication pathestablished by the paired aerial communication drone.

Referring now to FIG. 27, exemplary method 2700 begins at step 2705where the aerial communication drone paired with the delivery vehicle(referred to as PHD in FIG. 27) may receive an activation command whilein a secured position within the delivery vehicle. The activationcommand for the PHD, for example, may be in the form of a wirelessmessage received by PHD 2125 from the internal docking station 2130, thevehicle transceiver 2135, central communication station 2200, or from aradio-based transceiver 2300 operated by personnel within theoperational control section of the vehicle or within the internalshipment storage for the vehicle. Alternatively, the activation commandmay be received in the form of a time-based command generated onboardthe PHD 2125 where, for example, the PHD may be deployed to activatefrom the secured position so that the airborne relocatable communicationhub services provided to the broadcast-enabled devices within thedelivery vehicle may occur after recharging of PHD 2125. In other words,the PHD 2125 may recharge while on internal docking station 2130 and,upon detecting a threshold charging status (which may operate as theactivation command), deploy from the docking station 2130.

Generally, steps 2710 through 2720 prepare and deploy the PHD within thedelivery vehicle. In particular, at step 2710, method 2700 continueswith the PHD transitioning from at least a low power state to an activepower state as part of deploying into the interior of the deliveryvehicle. The low power state of the PHD may be a complete shut offcondition where the PHD is unpowered. In other embodiments, the lowpower state may be a sleep type of state where some circuitry within thePHD is off (e.g., the lifting engines 210 a, 210 b of PHD 2125 shown inFIG. 21) while another subset of the onboard circuitry remains poweredon (e.g., GPS 350 and IMU 355 to help avoid delays prior to lift offfrom the docking station 2130). When transitioning to the activemonitoring state, where the PHD will be ready for airborne communicationhub activities within the shipment storage of the delivery vehicle, thePHD prepares to separate from the internal docking station.

At step 2715, method 2700 continues by automatically uncoupling the PHDfrom a secured position on an internal docking station fixed within thedelivery vehicle once the PHD transitions to the active power state. Forexample, PHD 2125 may automatically uncouple from the internal dockingstation 2130 as a precursor to flying into the internal shipment storage120 shown in FIG. 20. In this embodiment, the PHD's landing gear(similar to landing gear 220 a, 220 b shown in FIG. 4A) separates frombeing mated with the securing clamps (similar to the securing claims 405a, 405 b shown in FIG. 4B) of the docking station 2130 to accomplishsuch automatic uncoupling. This may be implemented by articulating thelanding gear articulating the securing clamps, or both the landing gearand the securing clamps being moved to articulate to different positionsthat, as a result, uncouple the PHD 2125 from docking station 2130depending on the complexity of the PHD, docking station, and anticipatedvibrational environment within the drone storage area 115.

At step 2720, method 2700 continues with the PHD moving from the securedposition on the internal docking station to a first deployed airborneposition within an interior of the delivery vehicle. Moving off thedocking station to the first deployed airborne position may be done inresponse to receiving a flight command to redirect aerial movement ofthe PHD from being on the docking station to be aloft and flying to thefirst deployed position. In some embodiments, such a flight command maybe received over a control tether connected to the PHD (similar totether 1005 shown in FIG. 10) or may be received wirelessly through thePHD's multi-transceiver communication hub interface (such as interface2160 on PHD 2125).

At step 2725, method 2700 continues with the PHD establishing a firstwireless data communication path to a first of the broadcast-enableddevices within the delivery vehicle, such as ULD 2145 as shown in FIG.20. At step 2730, method 2700 has the PHD establishing a second wirelessdata communication path to a second of the broadcast-enabled deviceswithin the delivery vehicle, such as BESI 145 d as shown in FIG. 20.Such communication paths may be a common wireless data communicationprotocol (e.g., a 2G/3G/4G/5G cellular communication protocol, aBluetooth communication protocol, a Wi-Fi communication protocol, aZigbee communication protocol, and the like). However, in otherembodiments the multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 ofPHD 2125 may deploy different types of transceivers establishcommunication paths with different broadcast-enabled devices usingdifferent wireless communication protocols and use a protocol converterdevice installed as part of the communication hub interface 2160 to helpmanage the coupling of differently formatted wireless communicationpaths (as performed in step 2735).

At step 2735, method 2700 continues with the PHD coupling the firstwireless data communication path and the second wireless datacommunication path for at least the first of the broadcast-enableddevices and the second of the broadcast-enabled devices. As noted, thismay be accomplished, in particular, using such an embedded protocolconverter device deployed within the PHD's multi-transceivercommunication hub interface. The two coupled broadcast-enabledcommunication devices may be logically disposed at a same network levelof a hierarchically structured communication network (e.g., in apeer-to-peer relationship at the same network level of thehierarchically structured communication network), or be logicallydisposed at different network levels of the network where (e.g., wherethe first of the broadcast-enabled devices and the second of thebroadcast-enabled devices are coupled by the aerial communication droneoperating as a wireless access point for the first of thebroadcast-enabled devices). Furthermore, those skilled in the art willappreciate that at least the steps 2725-2735 may be performed as thedelivery vehicle is in motion and while the PHD is airborne within thedelivery vehicle.

In some embodiments, the coupling of communication paths done by PHD atstep 2735 (as well as the below described steps 2775 and 2785) allowsfor communications off the delivery vehicle. In particular, a furtherembodiment of step 2735 may have the PHD couple one of thebroadcast-enabled devices to a delivery vehicle transceiver operating asone of the broadcast-enabled device (and which is in communication witha remote transceiver external to the delivery vehicle over an externalwireless data communication path). In this manner, the delivery vehicletransceiver effectively couples the first wireless data communicationpath (established between it and the PHD) and the external wireless datacommunication.

Moving forward, method 2700 continues to step 2740 where the PHD maycollect data generated on the first of the broadcast-enabled devices.This type of data generated on the first of the broadcast-enableddevices may include scan data, sensor data, or shared data. In moredetail, scan data may be generated by a scanner on the first of thebroadcast-enabled devices, such as barcode data generated by a laserscanner component on a broadcast-enabled barcode device. Sensor datamay, for example, be generated by one or more environmental sensors onthe first of the broadcast-enabled devices (e.g., temperature sensors,light sensors, moisture sensors, motion sensors, and the like). Shareddata may be generated in a memory on the first of the broadcast-enableddevices, and represent information provided to that firstbroadcast-enabled device by another broadcast-enabled device. Forexample, ULD 2145 may include a first broadcast-enabled device havingshared data it its memory representing information provided by abroadcast-enabled device embedded in a package within ULD 2145. Thebroadcast-enabled device in the package within ULD 2145 may havetemperature information generated by onboard temperature sensors, andprovide that temperature information to the ULD's broadcast-enableddevice, which then is collected by the PHD 2125. Thus, if the PHDcollects such data from the first of the broadcast-enabled devices instep 2740, then the PHD retransmits the collected data to the second ofthe broadcast-enabled devices at step 2745. Otherwise, method 2700proceeds from step 2740 directly to step 2750.

At step 2750, method 2700 continues with the PHD determining whether ithas received a flight command that may redirect the drone to anotherairborne position. If so, then step 2750 moves directly to step 2765.But if not, then step 2750 proceeds to step 2755 where the PHD monitorsfor changes that impact communications with the first of thebroadcast-enabled devices. In more detail, at step 2755, exemplarymethod 2700 continues with the PHD monitoring a first strength level ofwhat is received from the first of the broadcast-enabled devices overthe first wireless data communication path. Then, at step 2760, method2700 has the PHD detecting if there is a threshold drop in the firststrength level of what is received from the first of thebroadcast-enabled devices as monitored in step 2755. For example, thethreshold drop in the first strength level may be associated with achanged configuration of what is maintained within the delivery vehicle.A configuration of what is maintained within the delivery vehicle maychange, which then causes the threshold drop in signal strengthresulting from the placement of attenuating structure between the firstof the broadcast-enabled devices and the PHD. In other words, changes tothe physical environment between the first broadcast-enabled device andthe PHD may cause interference or attenuation on the first wireless datacommunication path. Such changes may come from movement of the firstbroadcast-enabled device relative to the PHD (which may thrust differentstructure in a line of sight distances between the firstbroadcast-enabled device and the PHD), or may come from placing newattenuating structure between the first broadcast-enabled device and thePHD. Upon detecting such a threshold drop at step 2760, method 2700proceeds to step 2765. Otherwise, method 2700 proceeds back to step2740. Those skilled in that art will understand that steps 2755 and 2760may also be performed relative to the second of the broadcast-enableddevices as well in some embodiments.

At step 2765, a change in aerial position is warranted due to a flightcommand or as a result of detecting lower signal strengths from one ofthe broadcast-enabled devices coupled by the PHD. Thus, method 2700continues at step 2765 with the PHD moving from the first deployedairborne position within the interior of the delivery vehicle to asecond deployed airborne position. Such a second deployed airborneposition may be one of a number of airborne positions on an airbornecommunication path flown by the PHD within the interior of the deliveryvehicle. For example, PHD 2125 may typically fly on an airbornecommunication path above the shipping items maintained within theinternal shipment storage area 120, such that PHD 2125 may move to aposition closer to BESI 145 d after BESI 145 a is placed between mobiledevice 2300 and BESI 145 d as shown in FIG. 23 B. Similarly, in anotherexample, PHD 2125 may move to a position closer to mobile device 2400 asthe operator of device 240 moves within the internal shipment storagearea 120 away from the initial position of PHD 2125 as shown in FIG. 24.

At this second deployed airborne position, step 2770 of method 2700 hasthe PHD establishing a third wireless data communication path to a thirdof the broadcast-enabled devices within the delivery vehicle. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 26 B, PHD 2125 has moved to the seconddeployed airborne position and may establish another communication pathto another broadcast-enabled device, such as BESI 145 c. Then, at step2775, method 2700 has the PHD coupling the first wireless datacommunication path and the third wireless data communication path.Alternatively, step 2775 may couple the second and third wireless datacommunications paths or couple the first, second, and third wirelessdata communication paths together. In this manner, the thirdbroadcast-enabled device (e.g., BESI 145 c shown in FIG. 26B) maycommunication with one or more of the first two broadcast-enableddevices.

At step 2780, method 2700 continues with the PHD establishing a fourthwireless data communication path to a fourth of the broadcast-enableddevices within the delivery vehicle (such as BESI 145 d shown in FIG.26B). Then, at step 2785, method 2700 has the PHD coupling the thirdwireless data communication path and the fourth wireless datacommunication path by the aerial communication drone operating as theairborne relocatable communication hub for at least the third of thebroadcast-enabled devices and the fourth of the broadcast-enableddevices.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 2700 as disclosedand explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by anapparatus, such as exemplary PHD 2125, running an embodiment ofcommunication hub management program code 2150, and as a part of asystem including the internal docking station 2130 and PHD 2125 or asystem that includes the delivery vehicle 100 and the PHD 2125. Suchcode 2150 may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium inthe PHD, such as memory storage 315 as shown on FIG. 21. Thus, whenexecuting code 2150, the OBC 2100 (or OCP 2110) of PHD 2125 (incooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD 2125, such as themulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160) may be operative toperform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosedabove, including method 2700 and variations of that method.

Enhanced Positioning of a Paired Aerial Communication Hub Drone

As noted above, there are times when an exemplary paired aerialcommunication hub drone (i.e., an exemplary PHD) may be flown,redirected, or repositioned to a different aerial deployed position sothat the PHD may more effectively link two or more wireless devices. Forexample, a communications environment relative to the PHD's deliveryvehicle may dynamically change, which may cause problems on where tomost effectively position the PHD. Items placed within the deliveryvehicle may interfere with communications between broadcast-enabledwireless devices on the delivery vehicle or the devices themselves maybe moving within or relative to the delivery vehicle. In anotherexample, the PHD may detect two such wireless devices that should belinked, but the PHD may currently be in an inconvenient position toreliably establish and couple the wireless devices. In such anenvironment, linking wireless devices using the PHD may be betteraccomplished with intelligent positioning of the PHD based on having thePHD perform certain types of assessments while airborne. Thus, a furtherset of embodiments involves enhanced airborne relocatable communicationhub systems and improved methods for positioning an airborne relocatablecommunication hub that supports multiple wireless devices.

Referring back to FIG. 21, exemplary PHD 2125 is shown as a type ofcommunication drone apparatus that may be further enhanced as part of anembodiment so that it can advantageously and intelligently repositionsitself while supporting wireless devices disposed within a deliveryvehicle. As explained above, exemplary PHD 2125 includes lifting engines210 a, 210 b that are responsive to flight control input generated bythe onboard controller 2100 as part of maintaining a desired flightprofile within the delivery vehicle (such as aircraft 100). In anembodiment of PHD 2125, repositioning may generally be based upon acomparison of connection signal strengths for different signals detectedby multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 as the PHD 2125executes an enhanced embodiment of communication hub management program2150. As noted above, implementations of exemplary communication hubmanagement program 2150 may be a set of executable instructions in theform of one or more machine-readable, non-transient program code modulesor applications. The communication hub management program 2150 adaptsthe PHD 2125 into an unconventionally configured aerial communicationhub apparatus exclusively paired to the aircraft 100 as a linked part ofthe aircraft that travels with the aircraft during shipment operationsproviding improved repositionable airborne communication hub services towireless devices within and around the delivery vehicle. This speciallyconfigured OBC 2100 of PHD 2125, as described in more detail herein as apart of an embodiment, implements operative process steps and providesfunctionality that is unconventional, especially when the overall stepsthat provide extended communication access functionality using the PHD2125 and how it can be intelligently repositioned to solve a technicalcommunication issue. In other words, a specially adapted and configuredpaired communication hub drone (e.g., PHD 2125) helps, as a part of anembodiment, to improve how wireless devices in and around the deliveryvehicle (e.g., radio-based transceivers associated with shipping items(such as the transceivers in BESI 145 a-145 e) and associated withshipping containers (such as the transceiver in ULD 2145)) communicatewith each other while being disposed in or being around the deliveryvehicle.

In an exemplary apparatus embodiment, PHD 2125 may be deployed toinclude at least an aerial drone main housing (such as housing 200), anonboard controller disposed within the housing (such as OBC 2100),multiple lifting engines (such as engines 210 a, 210 b), and acommunication hub interface (such as multi-transceiver communication hubinterface 2160). Generally, this PHD 2125 controls and uses itscommunication hub interface 2160 in this repositioning embodiment todetect one or more signals broadcast from the wireless devices in oraround the delivery vehicle, compare such signals, change the PHD'sflight profile to reposition the PHD based on the comparison, and thenlink the wireless devices via wireless data communication paths to thewireless devices. Such wireless devices may, for example, include acentral communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station2200 or vehicle transceiver 2135), a broadcast-enabled shippingcontainer (e.g., ULD 2145), a broadcast-enabled network deviceassociated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g.,BESI 145 d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300, 2400).

In more detail, as the onboard controller 2100 of PHD 2125 executes thecommunication hub management program 2150 in this embodiment, theonboard controller first changes the desired flight profile to cause thelifting engines to move the PHD from a secured position within aninterior of the delivery vehicle to a first deployed airborne positionwithin a different part of the interior of the delivery vehicle (such asin the position shown in FIG. 24 where PHD 2125 may have moved from asecured position on docking station 2130 to the illustrated airborneposition of PHD 2125 above ULD 2145 within the interior shipment storage120 of aircraft 100). At this first deployed airborne position, theonboard controller of the PHD receives a first signal from thecommunication hub interface. This first signal is broadcast by a firstwireless device and detected by the communication hub interface. Theonboard controller then receives a second signal from the communicationhub interface, where the second signal is broadcast by a second wirelessdevice and detected by the communication hub interface. With these twodetected signals, the onboard controller compares their respectiveconnection signal strengths (e.g., power levels as detected bymulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160). Based upon thecomparison of connection signal strengths, the onboard controller canchange the desired flight profile to cause the lifting engines toreposition the PHD to a second deployed airborne position within thedelivery vehicle. For example, when the first connection signal strengthis lower than the second connection signal strength, the PHD mayreposition to a different deployed airborne position closer to the firstwireless device and not as close to the second wireless device. In amore detailed embodiment, the lifting engines reposition the PHD to thesecond deployed airborne position based upon a detected balance betweenthe first connection signal strength and the second connection signalstrength as the PHD moves within the delivery vehicle. In other words,the PHD may iteratively monitor the connection signal strength of eachsignal while moving so as to balance those signal strengths. Furtherembodiments may balance and attempt to move to a second position thatminimized the balanced connection signal strengths.

Thereafter, the onboard controller causes the communication hubinterface to link the first wireless device and the second wirelessdevice after the aerial communication drone is repositioned at thesecond deployed airborne position. Thus, this apparatus embodiment ofPHD 2125 enables an intelligent physical movement and repositioning ofthe PHD that supports linking the two wireless devices and maintainingthat link in an improved way that solves a technical problem dealingwith how and where to position such a paired airborne communication hubdrone device when actively and dynamically supporting different wirelessdevices in and around the delivery vehicle.

In a further embodiment of such a PHD apparatus, repositioning may bebased on comparing three signals from three devices. For example, theonboard controller may further receive a third signal from thecommunication hub interface, where the third signal was broadcast by athird wireless device and detected by the communication hub interface.Then, as part of repositioning, the onboard controller may cause thelifting engines to reposition the PHD to a third deployed airborneposition within the delivery vehicle based upon a comparison of thefirst connection signal strength, the second connection signal strength,and a third connection signal strength for the third signal. In otherwords, this third deployed airborne position may be a point within thedelivery vehicle where the communication hub interface detects a balancebetween the first connection signal strength, the second connectionsignal strength, and the third connection signal strength.

In still another embodiment of such a PHD apparatus, adaptiverepositioning may be implemented when one of the wireless deviceschanges signal strength. In more detail, as the PHD is airborne and haslinked the first and second wireless devices, the communication hubinterface may detect a change in the first connection signal strength.This may, for example, be due to a change in what may be stored withinthe delivery vehicle or if the first wireless device is moving. As such,the onboard controller may be responsive to the detected change in thefirst connection signal strength to alter the desired flight profile andcause the lifting engines to reposition the PHD to a third deployedairborne position based upon a comparison of an updated value of thefirst connection signal strength and the second connection signalstrength.

In yet another embodiment, adaptive repositioning may be implementedwhen both wireless devices change signal strength. In more detail, thePHD's communication hub interface may be further operative to detect afirst change in the first connection signal strength and a second changein the second connection signal strength. The onboard controller may beresponsive to the detected first change and second change to then alterthe desired flight profile and cause the lifting engines to repositionthe PHD to a third deployed airborne position based upon a comparison ofa first updated value of the first connection signal strength and asecond updated value of the second connection signal strength. Suchchanges may, for example, be due to changes within the delivery vehicleor movement of the different wireless devices relative to the currentlocation of the PHD and its communication hub interface or an alteredbroadcast signal level as changed by the broadcasting device.

Such a PHD-based apparatus embodiment that repositions based oncomparing connection signal strengths may be further used as part of asystem embodiment. Such an enhanced airborne relocatable communicationhub system generally includes a delivery vehicle and that deliveryvehicle's paired aerial communication drone. The delivery vehicle (e.g.,aircraft 100 as shown in FIGS. 20, 22, 23A, 23B, and 24) maintainsmultiple wireless devices while transporting the wireless devices. Thedelivery vehicle has an interior storage area (such as shipment storage120) for maintaining the wireless devices and a drone storage area (suchas drone storage area 115) disposed within the delivery vehicle. Thesystem's paired aerial communication drone (referred to as PHD) can besecured within the drone storage area and may be implemented consistentwith the apparatus embodiments described above as having at least anonboard controller, lifting engines, and a communication hub interface.The system's PHD generally operates to detect signals from differentwireless devices, compare the connection signal strength of suchdetected signals, and reposition the PHD based on that comparison beforelinking the two wireless devices as described in more detail above.Thus, such an enhanced airborne relocatable communication hub systemcollectively provides a movable storage system that has a dynamicallyrepositionable PHD that enhances how wireless devices maintained withinthe storage system may communicate with each other.

Consistent with the exemplary enhanced aerial communication droneapparatus that supports wireless devices disposed within and near adelivery vehicle and the exemplary enhanced airborne relocatablecommunication hub system as described above, a further embodiment maytake the form of a drone-based method for repositioning the airbornerelocatable communication hub drone while providing communication hubservices to the wireless devices. In particular, FIG. 28 is a flowdiagram illustrating an improved method for enhanced positioning of anairborne relocatable communication hub (e.g., PHD 2125) supporting agroup of wireless devices and based on connection signal strength inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Such wireless devicesmay, for example, be on a delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft 100) andinclude a central communication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g.,station 2200 or vehicle transceiver 2135), a broadcast-enabled shippingcontainer (e.g., ULD 2145), a broadcast-enabled network deviceassociated with an item being shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g.,BESI 145 d), or a mobile personal communication device (e.g., devices2300, 2400) operating within or near the delivery vehicle. Anotherexemplary wireless device that may interact with the airbornerelocatable communication drone or PHD may be a broadcast-enablednetwork device associated with a fixed physical location, such as awireless access point device disposed at the fixed physical locationwithin a building (e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger, and the like).

Referring now to FIG. 28, exemplary method 2800 begins at step 2805where the aerial communication drone operating as the airbornerelocatable communication hub moves to a first deployed airborneposition. The aerial communication drone (such as PHD 2125 shown in FIG.21) may be exclusively paired to specific delivery vehicle (such asaircraft 100). As such, moving the aerial communication drone may bedone by moving to a deployed airborne position within a delivery vehicleas the first position.

At step 2810, method 2800 has the aerial communication drone monitoringfor broadcast signals from wireless devices while deployed at the firstairborne position. At step 2815, method 2800 proceeds by detecting afirst signal broadcast by a first of the wireless devices using acommunication hub interface on the aerial communication drone, such asthe multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 on PHD 2125. Whenthis first signal is detected, step 2815 proceeds to step 2820.Otherwise, step 2815 proceeds back to step 2810 to continue monitoringfor such a first detected signal. At step 2820, method 2800 continues bydetecting a second signal broadcast by a second of the wireless devicesusing the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone.When this second signal is detected, step 2820 proceeds to step 2825.Otherwise, step 2820 remains searching for the second detected signal.

At step 2825, two different signals from two different wireless deviceshave been detected and method 2800 uses the onboard controller of theaerial communication drone (such as OBC 2100 of PHD 2125) to compare afirst connection signal strength for the first signal and a secondconnection signal strength for the second signal. The connection signalstrength may, for example, be an absolute power level as measured by theaerial communication drone's communication interface or an RSSI levelindicative of how well the drone is receiving the related signal fromthe particular wireless device.

At step 2830, method 2800 proceeds with repositioning the aerialcommunication drone operating as the airborne relocatable communicationhub to a second deployed airborne position based upon the comparison ofthe first connection signal strength and the second connection signalstrength. For example, PHD 2125 may compare the different connectionsignal strengths of the first and second signals as the PHD 2125 ismoving. In other words, the PHD may compare such connection signalstrengths while moving as a type of feedback, which has the effect ofimproving a balance between the first and second connection signalstrengths as the PHD approaches the second deployed airborne position.Thus, when there is an equal balance of connection signal strengths, thePHD may be considered to have been repositioned at the second deployedairborne position.

At step 2835, method 2800 proceeds with the aerial communication dronelinking the first of the wireless devices and the second of the wirelessdevices using the communication hub interface on the aerialcommunication drone once repositioned at the second deployed airborneposition. Such linking may allow signals of the same or different formatto effectively let information flow from the first wireless device tothe second wireless device and vice versa by leveraging use of theaerial communication drone as intelligently positioned to improve thereliability and robust nature of such linked information flow from thesecond deployed airborne position. In one embodiment, the linking instep 2845 has the communication hub interface establishing apeer-to-peer connection between the first and second wireless devices.In another embodiment, the linking in step 2845 has the communicationhub interface establishes a wireless access point connection from thefirst wireless device to the second wireless device

In general, steps 2840 through 2855 of an embodiment of method 2800further account for changes in the connection signal strengths. In moredetail, at step 2840, method 2800 proceeds with detecting a change inthe first connection signal strength. The detected change in the firstconnection signal strength may be caused by and correspond to movementof the first of the wireless devices relative to the communication hubinterface on the aerial communication drone. For example, as shown inFIG. 24, mobile personal communication device 2400 may be moving withinthe internal shipment storage 120 of aircraft 100, which may cause PHD2125 to detect a change (higher or lower) of the connection signalstrength of signals received from mobile personal communication device2400.

At step 2845, method 2800 proceeds to compare an updated value of thefirst connection signal strength for the first signal and the secondconnection signal strength for the second signal, and then at step 2850,reposition the aerial communication drone operating as the airbornerelocatable communication hub to a third deployed airborne positionbased upon the comparison of step 2845. Then, at step 2855, method 2800links the first wireless device and the second wireless device using thecommunication hub interface on the aerial communication drone oncerepositioned at the third deployed airborne position.

In some embodiments of method 2800, the aerial communication drone (PHD)may interact with three or more different wireless devices. For example,a further embodiment of method 2800 may have the aerial communicationdrone detecting a third signal broadcast by a third wireless deviceusing the communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone.As such, the comparing of step 2825 may be implemented as comparing thefirst connection signal strength, the second connection signal strength,and a third connection signal strength for the third signal. The resultsof this comparison may then be used as a basis for repositioning theaerial communication drone to another deployed airborne position wherethe three different connection signal strengths may be within atolerable range or substantially balanced.

Furthermore, an embodiment of method 2800's steps 2840-2855 may bemodified to handle when both wireless devices change signal strength,which may be attributed to movement of the first and second wirelessdevices (e.g., when they are mobile devices, such as mobile personalcommunication device devices 2300, 2400). As such and in that modifiedmethod, the aerial communication drone may detect a first change in thefirst connection signal strength, detect a second change in the secondconnection signal strength, and then compare a first updated value ofthe first connection signal strength and a second updated value for thesecond connection signal strength. This comparison of both updatedvalues (given the dynamic situation of where both devices are located orhow both devices may be transmitting), may be used to reposition theaerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatablecommunication hub to a fourth deployed airborne position. Oncerepositioned at the fourth deployed airborne position, the aerialcommunication drone may link the first and second wireless devices usingthe communication hub interface on the aerial communication drone.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 2800 as disclosedand explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by anapparatus, such as exemplary PHD 2125 as already described above,running an embodiment of communication hub management program code 2150,and as a part of a system including the internal docking station 2130and PHD 2125 or a system that includes the delivery vehicle 100 and thePHD 2125. Such code 2150 may be stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium in the PHD, such as memory storage 315 as shownon FIG. 21. Thus, when executing code 2150, the OBC 2100 (or OCP 2110)of PHD 2125 (in cooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD 2125,such as the multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160) may beoperative to perform certain operations or steps from the exemplarymethods disclosed above, including method 2800 and variations of thatmethod.

While the embodiments of method 2800 (and related apparatus and systemembodiments) described above involve actively positioning the aerialcommunication drone based upon detecting and comparing connection signalstrengths of different wireless devices, other embodiments of enhancedpositioning may reposition or relocate based upon detecting wirelessdevice concentrations. In general, an embodiment may have an aerialcommunication drone detect different concentrations of wireless devicesalong an airborne scanning path, and then relocate the drone to theairborne position near the highest concentration of detected wirelessdevices so that it may be in a position to most effectively servewireless devices that need to be linked in order to communicate witheach other. The drone may periodically resurvey the concentration ofdetected wireless devices and then update its deployed position nearwhere the updated highest concentration of detected wireless devices arenow currently located so to account for movement of wireless devices orchanges in what may be shielding such devices.

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram illustrating such an exemplary improved methodfor enhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hubthat supports multiple wireless devices and is based on deviceconcentration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Asnoted above, such exemplary wireless devices may be on a deliveryvehicle (e.g., aircraft 100) and include a central communication stationon the delivery vehicle (e.g., station 2200 or vehicle transceiver2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g., ULD 2145), abroadcast-enabled network device associated with an item being shippedwithin the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI 145 d), or a mobile personalcommunication device (e.g., devices 2300, 2400) operating within or nearthe delivery vehicle. Another exemplary wireless device that mayinteract with the airborne relocatable communication drone or PHD may bea broadcast-enabled network device associated with a fixed physicallocation that may be on the delivery vehicle or simply near the deliveryvehicle, such as a wireless access point device disposed at the fixedphysical location within a building (e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger,and the like).

Referring now to FIG. 29, method 2900 begins at step 2905 where theaerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatablecommunication hub (generally referred to as “PHD” in FIG. 29) is movedon an airborne scanning path with multiple airborne deployed positions,which begins with moving to a first position. For example, the PHD maybe deployed within a delivery vehicle where the airborne scanning pathis one that extends along different airborne positions within thedelivery vehicle's shipment storage area. The delivery vehicle (such asaircraft 100 shown in FIG. 24), which may be exclusively paired with thePHD, may house a docking station for the PHD (such as docking station2130) from which the PHD may initially move as it begins to move to thefirst position on its airborne scanning path programmed into its flightprofile data (such as data 2155 in memory 315 of exemplary PHD 2125).

In general, steps 2910 through 2920 have the PHD using its communicationhub interface to detect different concentrations of the wireless devicesas the PHD moves to each of the airborne deployed positions on theairborne scanning path. In particular, at step 2910, method 2900 has thePHD detecting a concentration of wireless devices at its currentairborne deployed position along the programmed airborne scanning path.The detected concentration represents at least a portion of the wirelessdevices actively broadcasting within a detection range of thecommunication hub interface proximate to that specific airborne deployedposition. At step 2915, method 2900 determines whether the currentposition of the PHD on the airborne scanning path is the last positionfor detecting wireless device concentrations. If so, step 2915 proceedsto step 2925. But if not, step 2915 proceeds to step 2920 where the PHDmoves to the next airborne deployed position on the airborne scanningpath before moving again to step 2910 to detect concentrations at thatnext airborne deployed position. In this manner, an embodiment may havethe PHD essentially surveying how the wireless devices it may supportare located relative to each other, which may then be used forpositioning the PHD when providing airborne communication hub services.

At step 2925, method 2900 continues with the PHD relocating to theposition on the airborne scanning path that was detected to have ahighest concentration of the wireless devices within its detectionrange. Then, at step 2930, method 2900 has the PHD linking at least twoof the wireless devices using the PHD's communication hub interface oncerepositioned at the airborne deployed position corresponding to thehighest concentration of the wireless devices. In more detail, thislinking of the wireless devices may establish a peer-to-peer connectionbetween the at least two wireless devices or establish a wireless accesspoint connection from one wireless device to another (e.g., providingaccess to a higher level in a hierarchical wireless device network).

An embodiment of method 2900 may also respond to the dynamic nature ofthe wireless devices, which may have the PHD further relocating based onan updated detection of wireless device concentrations. In more detail,method 2900 may continue from step 2930 to step 2935, where the PHDmonitors for a threshold change in the previously detected highest ofthe concentrations of the wireless devices. For example, while PHD mayhover at a position within the internal shipment storage 120 of aircraft100, some of the wireless devices may no longer be broadcasting oradditional wireless devices within range of PHD 2125 may beginbroadcasting that alters the prior concentration detected back in step2910. Accordingly, at step 2940, method 2900 proceeds to back to step2935 if no threshold change was detected, but proceeds back to step 2910if there was a threshold change in device concentration. This allows thePHD to re-survey the updated wireless device concentrations. In moredetail, the PHD's communication hub interface may redetect the differentconcentrations of the wireless devices at each of the airborne deployedpositions on the airborne scanning path; the PHD then is repositioned tothe airborne deployed position having a highest of the updatedconcentrations of the wireless devices; and then the PHD proceeds tolink at least two of the wireless devices using its communication hubinterface once repositioned at the airborne deployed positioncorresponding to the highest updated concentration of the wirelessdevices.

A further embodiment may also perform this type of update response or atleast periodically perform such tasks (rather than wait for a thresholdchange detection) given the PHD may be unable to sense or detect changesin the number of broadcasting wireless devices outside the PHD'simmediate detection range. Thus, an embodiment of method 2900 may skipsteps 2935 and 2940 and, instead, simply proceed back to step 2910 fromstep 2930 after some defined period of time (or once the linked wirelessdevices are no longer communicating through the airborne communicationhub services provided by the PHD).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 2900 as disclosedand explained above in various embodiments may be implemented by anapparatus, such as exemplary PHD 2125, running an embodiment ofcommunication hub management program code 2150, and as a part of asystem including the internal docking station 2130 and PHD 2125 or asystem that includes the delivery vehicle 100 and the PHD 2125. Suchcode 2150 may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium inthe PHD, such as memory storage 315 as shown on FIG. 21. Thus, whenexecuting code 2150, the OBC 2100 (or OCP 2110) of PHD 2125 (incooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD 2125, such as themulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160) may be operative toperform certain operations or steps from the exemplary methods disclosedabove, including method 2900 and variations of that method.

While the above described embodiments of method 2900 (and relatedapparatus and system embodiments) involve actively positioning theaerial communication drone based upon detected concentrations ofdifferent wireless devices when moving along an airborne scanning path,another embodiment may strategically position the PHD using adirectional antenna deployed as part of the PHD's communication hubinterface. In general, an embodiment of the aerial communication droneor PHD may use a communication hub interface having a directionalantenna that allows for directional detection of signals broadcast bywireless devices supported by the PHD. For example, themulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 of exemplary PHD 2125may include one or more directional antennas. Such a directional antennamay, for example, be implemented with a beam forming antenna that canelectronically steer and change its reception pattern in differentdirections from a stationary PHD 2125. However, in another example, thedirectional antenna may have a characteristic reception pattern that isdirectional in a fixed direction (not omni-directional norelectronically steering/shaping the antenna's reception pattern). Here,the PHD 2125 may physically spin or rotate to steer the directionalreception pattern in different directions relative to the location ofthe PHD 2125. As such, the PHD 2125 is able to survey differentconcentrations of operating wireless devices in different locationsrelative to the current deployed airborne position of PHD 2125 withoutthe need to first traverse and move through different positions on anairborne scanning path.

FIG. 30 is a flow diagram illustrating yet another improved method forenhanced positioning of an airborne relocatable communication hubsupporting a plurality of wireless devices and based on directionalsensing of the wireless devices in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Again, as noted above, such exemplary wireless devices may beon a delivery vehicle (e.g., aircraft 100) and include a centralcommunication station on the delivery vehicle (e.g., station 2200 orvehicle transceiver 2135), a broadcast-enabled shipping container (e.g.,ULD 2145), a broadcast-enabled network device associated with an itembeing shipped within the delivery vehicle (e.g., BESI 145 d), or amobile personal communication device (e.g., devices 2300, 2400)operating within or near the delivery vehicle. Another exemplarywireless device that may interact with the airborne relocatablecommunication drone or PHD may be a broadcast-enabled network deviceassociated with a fixed physical location that may be on the deliveryvehicle or simply near the delivery vehicle, such as a wireless accesspoint device disposed at the fixed physical location within a building(e.g., a warehouse, storage hanger, and the like).

Referring now to FIG. 30, method 3000 begins at step 3005 where theaerial communication drone operating as the airborne relocatablecommunication hub (generally referred to as “PHD” in FIG. 30) is movedto a first airborne deployed position. For example, the PHD may bedeployed within a delivery vehicle's shipment storage area at an initialcentral airborne position relative to where wireless devices may belocated in the shipment storage area. The delivery vehicle (such asaircraft 100 shown in FIG. 24), which may be exclusively paired with thePHD, may house a docking station for the PHD (such as docking station2130) from which the PHD may initially move as it begins to move to thisfirst airborne deployed position programmed into its flight profile data(such as data 2155 in memory 315 of exemplary PHD 2125). Such a positionmay be a geographic coordinate or a relative proximity location asdetected by the PHD's proximity sensors.

In general, step 3010 has the PHD using the directional antenna of itscommunication hub interface to detect different concentrations of thewireless devices relative to different directions while at the currentairborne deployed position. Each detected concentration is thus aportion of the wireless devices actively broadcasting within a detectionrange of the communication hub interface proximate to the first airbornedeployed position.

For example, PHD 2125 may have a phased array directional antenna aspart of its multi-transceiver communication hub interface 2160. Usingthis phased array directional antenna, the PHD 2125 may perform afocused survey at different directions out from the PHD 2125 looking fora concentration of operating wireless devices (e.g., how many signalsare detected from wireless devices operating in that direction from thePHD 2125). To do this, the PHD 2125 may cause the directional antenna ofthe communication hub interface 2160 to change the reception pattern soas to focus on a particular direction relative to where the PHD 2125 iscurrently located. In other words, the PHD 2125 may electronically steerthe reception pattern of the communication hub interface's phased arraydirectional antenna to focus on different directions relative to thePHD's location. Thus, in this example, PHD 2125 may have the directionalantenna focus straight ahead of PHD 2125 to detect a concentration ofoperating wireless devices at that direction relative to the currentairborne deployed position of the PHD 2125. This may be repeated forother directions—such as to the right, left, and behind the PHD 2125.Depending on the steering granularity and ability to tightly focus thereception pattern, another embodiment may do this type of electronicsteering of the directional reception pattern at set degrees of acompass, such as at every 15 degrees of the 360 degree view relative tothe PHD's location. Thus, such examples allow the PHD to detect wirelessdevice concentrations from different directions without requiring thePHD to rotate in place.

Another embodiment implementing step 3010 may use a fixed directionalantenna as part of the PHD's communication hub interface. Here, the PHDmay rotate its airborne hovering position on a vertical axis so as toalter where the fixed directional antenna is aimed as part of detectingwireless device concentrations from different directions. Thus, the PHDin this embodiment physically moves rather than causing the receptionpattern to electronically change.

At step 3015, method 3000 continues with the PHD relocating to a secondairborne deployed position based upon a highest of the concentrations ofthe wireless devices. In particular, the second airborne deployedposition to which the PHD is relocated is in the direction correspondingto the highest detected concentration of the wireless devices. In otherwords, the PHD relocates to this second position in the direction of thehighest wireless device concentration. Then, at step 3020, method 3000has the PHD linking at least two of the wireless devices using the PHD'scommunication hub interface once the PHD has been relocated to thissecond position. In more detail, this linking of the wireless devicesmay establish a peer-to-peer connection between the at least twowireless devices or establish a wireless access point connection fromone wireless device to another (e.g., providing access to a higher levelin a hierarchical wireless device network).

An embodiment of method 3000 may further include steps, such as steps3025-3035, that have the PHD reassessing or resurveying the currentconcentrations of active wireless devices and repositioning based onthat updated concentration information. This may be done after a settime at the second position or be based upon monitored activity thatindicates a threshold change in actively broadcasting wireless devicesat the second position. In more detail, method 3000 moves to step 3025where the directional antenna coupled to the communication hub interfaceon the PHD detects updated concentrations of the wireless devices whilethe PHD is located at the second deployed position. The mechanism andprocess for detecting updated concentrations is similar to thatexplained above relative to step 3010. Each of these updatedconcentrations corresponds to active and operating wireless devices in aparticular direction from the second deployed airborne position.

At step 3030, method 3000 relocates the PHD to a third airborne deployedposition based upon the highest updated concentrations of the wirelessdevices. Generally, this third airborne deployed position is located ina direction corresponding to the highest detected updated concentrationsof the wireless devices.

In a further embodiment, this type of relocation to the third positionmay be accomplished when the PHD moves from the second airborne deployedposition along the direction corresponding to the highest detectedupdated concentrations of the wireless devices while monitoring foroperating wireless devices by the directional antenna coupled to thecommunication hub interface. Thereafter, this type of sensory focusedmanner of intelligent airborne relocation then may have the PHD hovering(or transitioning to a hover) at the third airborne position when thePHD has moved at least a predetermined distance from the second airborneposition and monitoring for operating wireless devices indicates atleast one of the actively operating wireless devices has a receivedconnection strength above a threshold level. Similarly, the PHD mayfinish relocating by hovering (or transitioning to a hover) at the thirdairborne position once the PHD has moved along the directioncorresponding to the highest detected updated concentrations of thewireless devices and then detected a threshold number of operatingwireless devices. At that point, the PHD may stop on its transit outfrom the second position and along that direction, so as to situateitself in an intelligent manner that compensates for changes in theoperating environment of wireless devices.

Thereafter, at step 3035, method 3000 concludes with the PHD linking atleast two of the wireless devices using the PHD's communication hubinterface once the PHD has been relocated to this third position. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the PHD may repeatedly gothrough such a concentration assessment via direction antenna operationsand updating of where to relocate based on the latest assessment inorder to actively adapt to a changing environment of operating wirelessdevices.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that method 3000 asdisclosed and explained above in various embodiments may be implementedby an apparatus, such as exemplary PHD 2125, running an embodiment ofcommunication hub management program code 2150, and as a part of asystem including the internal docking station 2130 and PHD 2125 or asystem that includes the delivery vehicle 100 and the PHD 2125. Suchcode 2150 may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium inthe PHD, such as memory storage 315 as shown on FIG. 21. Thus, whenexecuting code 2150, the OBC 2100 (or OCP 2110) of PHD 2125 (incooperation with other circuitry onboard the PHD 2125, such as themulti-transceiver communication hub interface 2160 and its directionalantenna) may be operative to perform certain operations or steps fromthe exemplary methods disclosed above, including method 3000 andvariations of that method.

In summary, it should be emphasized that the sequence of operations toperform any of the methods and variations of the methods described inthe embodiments herein are merely exemplary, and that a variety ofsequences of operations may be followed while still being true and inaccordance with the principles of the present invention as understood byone skilled in the art.

At least some portions of exemplary embodiments outlined above may beused in association with portions of other exemplary embodiments toenhance and improve logistics using an aerial monitor, inspection orcommunication drone to enhance monitoring of shipped items in a deliveryvehicle, perform various types of inspections of the delivery vehicle,and providing a drone-based airborne relocatable communication hubwithin a delivery vehicle. As noted above, the exemplary embodimentsdisclosed herein may be used independently from one another and/or incombination with one another and may have applications to devices andmethods not disclosed herein. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the exemplary monitor/inspection/communication drone asdeployed with a delivery vehicle, systems using such an apparatus, andmethods of how such an apparatus may operate as part of a logisticsoperation as described above provide enhancements and improvements totechnology used in logistics and shipment operations, such as loading,unloading, and in-flight monitoring of a delivery vehicle.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may provideone or more advantages, and not all embodiments necessarily provide allor more than one particular advantage as set forth here. Additionally,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structures andmethodologies described herein. Thus, it should be understood that theinvention is not limited to the subject matter discussed in thedescription. Rather, the present invention, as recited in the claimsbelow, is intended to cover modifications and variations.

What is claimed:
 1. A drone-based system for conducting a modifiedinspection of an aircraft used as a delivery vehicle, comprising: aninspection drone paired to the delivery vehicle and operative toaerially inspect the aircraft, the paired inspection drone furthercomprising: a main housing, an onboard controller disposed within themain housing, a memory storage coupled to the onboard controller andmaintaining an inspection profile record corresponding to the aircraft,a plurality of lifting engines coupled with respective lifting rotors,each of the lifting engines being fixed to a different portion of themain housing and responsive to flight control input generated by theonboard controller as part of maintaining a desired flight profile, atleast one sensor coupled to the onboard controller, the sensor beingoperative to (a) detect sensor-based inspection information while thepaired inspection drone is airborne, and (b) provide the detectedsensor-based inspection information to the onboard controller, and acommunication interface coupled to the onboard controller, thecommunication interface being operative to receive an inspection updatemessage related to the modified inspection of the aircraft; and adelivery vehicle transceiver comprising a user interface for acceptinginput that identifies at least one or more additional inspection pointsrelated to the aircraft, and a wireless radio operative to transmit theinspection update message to the communication interface of the pairedinspection drone, the inspection update message identifying the at leastone or more additional inspection points accepted as input on the userinterface; and wherein the onboard controller of the paired inspectiondrone is operative to access the memory storage to identify a pluralityof existing delivery vehicle inspection points on the aircraft from theinspection profile record stored in the memory storage, receive theinspection update message from the communication interface, update theexisting delivery vehicle inspection points with the at least one ormore additional inspection points to yield a plurality of targetedinspection points corresponding to respective parts of the aircraft,wherein at least a portion of the additional inspection points arespecific to inside of the aircraft, wherein at least one of theadditional inspection points comprises a cargo handling point locatedwithin an accessible cargo storage area within the aircraft, wherein thecargo handling point facilitates movement of a cargo shipment within theaccessible cargo storage area, wherein the cargo handling pointcomprises at least one from a group consisting of a roller, a caster, aportion of a roller deck, a roller ball mat, a castor mat, a turntable,and a conveyor, and conduct the modified inspection of the aircraft bygathering the detected sensor-based inspection information related toeach of the targeted inspection points.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the onboard controller of the paired inspection drone is furtheroperative to autonomously send flight control input to the liftingengines to cause the paired inspection drone to traverse respectiveaerial positions proximate each of the targeted inspection points aspart of conducting the modified inspection of the aircraft.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the onboard controller of the pairedinspection drone is further operative to: automatically identify aninspection condition about at least one of the targeted inspectionpoints when the sensor-based inspection information for the at least oneof the targeted inspection points is outside of an acceptable rangerelated to the at least one of the targeted inspection points; and causethe communication interface to responsively transmit an inspectionnotification message to the delivery vehicle transceiver uponidentifying the inspection condition for the at least one targetedinspection point.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the delivery vehicletransceiver is disposed in a control compartment for the aircraft. 5.The system of claim 4, wherein the user interface of the deliveryvehicle transceiver comprises an interactive display interface in thecontrol compartment for the aircraft.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe delivery vehicle transceiver comprises a mobile transceiver deviceused in support of delivery vehicle operations and physically separatefrom the aircraft.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the onboardcontroller of the paired inspection drone is operative to update theexisting delivery vehicle inspection points by being further operativeto modify the inspection profile record to identify the targetedinspection points including the at least one or more additionalinspection points; and store the modified inspection profile record inthe memory storage.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least onesensor on paired inspection drone comprises a first sensor of a firsttype and a second sensor of a second type; and wherein the onboardcontroller of the paired inspection drone is operative to conduct themodified inspection of the aircraft by gathering the sensor-basedinspection information for a first of the targeted inspection pointswith the first sensor and gathering the sensor-based inspectioninformation for a second of the targeted inspection points with a secondsensor, wherein the modified inspection profile record indicates thetype of sensor to use with at least the first of the targeted inspectionpoints and the second of the inspection points.
 9. The system of claim1, wherein at least a portion of the additional inspection points areexternally exposed on the aircraft.
 10. The system of claim 9, whereinat least one of the additional inspection points comprises a firstdesignated inspection area aerially accessible from above the aircraftbut that is not visible from a ground level perspective relative to theaircraft.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of theadditional inspection points comprises an aircraft component of theaircraft.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the aircraft componentcomprises one from the group consisting of a panel, a rivet, a seam, anengine, a flight control surface, a window seal, a closable entry towithin the aircraft, aircraft lighting, an antenna, landing gear, and atire.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor on thepaired inspection drone comprises an image sensor that captures one ormore images relative to at least one of the additional inspectionpoints, where in the captured images correspond to the sensor-basedinspection information.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the imagesensor comprises at least one of a visual imaging sensor, an infrared(IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor.
 15. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one sensor on the paired inspection dronecomprises a depth measuring sensor that maps a surface related to theaircraft relative to at least one of the additional inspection points,where in the mapped surface corresponds to the sensor-based inspectioninformation.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the depth measuringsensor comprises at least one of a LIDAR sensor and a sound transducer.17. The system of claim 1, wherein the paired inspection drone comprisesa linked part of the aircraft that travels with the aircraft during adelivery vehicle based shipment operation.
 18. The system of claim 17,wherein the delivery vehicle based shipment operation comprises anoperation to ship one or more items from a first location to a secondlocation within the accessible cargo storage area within the aircraft.19. The system of claim 1, wherein the onboard controller of the pairedinspection drone comprises: a flight controller operative responsiblefor generating the flight control input and providing the flight controlinput to the lifting engines to maintain the desired flight profile; andan onboard inspection processor operative to at least maintain theinspection profile record within the memory storage and update theinspection profile record to reflect the at least one or more additionalinspection points related to the received inspection update message. 20.A drone-based method for conducting a modified inspection of an aircraftused as a delivery vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:receiving, by an inspection drone paired to the aircraft, an inspectionupdate message from a first transceiver, the inspection update messageidentifying at least one or more additional inspection points associatedwith the aircraft; updating, by the paired inspection drone, a pluralityof existing delivery vehicle inspection points with the at least one ormore additional inspection points to yield a plurality of targetedinspection points corresponding to respective parts of the aircraft,wherein at least one of the targeted inspection points comprises anaccessible cargo storage area within an aircraft, wherein at least oneof the targeted inspection points comprises a cargo handling pointlocated within an accessible cargo storage area within the aircraft,wherein the cargo handling point facilitates movement of a cargoshipment within the accessible cargo storage area, wherein updating theplurality of existing delivery vehicle inspection points furthercomprises generating a modified inspection profile record thatidentifies the targeted inspection points as a first plurality ofdesignated inspection areas specific to the aircraft as the existingdelivery vehicle inspection points and identifies a second plurality ofdesignated inspection areas specific to the aircraft as the one or moreadditional inspection points; and conducting, by a sensor on the pairedinspection drone, the modified inspection of the aircraft by gatheringsensor-based inspection information related to each of the targetedinspection points.
 21. The method of claim 20 further comprising thesteps of: providing the sensor-based inspection information by thesensor to an onboard processor on the paired inspection drone;automatically identifying, using the onboard processor on the pairedinspection drone, an inspection condition about at least one of thetargeted inspection points based upon the sensor-based inspectioninformation, the inspection condition being outside an acceptable rangefor operation of the aircraft; and responsively transmitting, by thepaired inspection drone, an inspection notification message to adelivery vehicle receiver disposed on the aircraft upon identifying theinspection condition for the at least one targeted inspection point isoutside the acceptable range for operation of the aircraft.
 22. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the first transceiver is disposed on thedelivery vehicle.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the firsttransceiver is disposed in a control compartment for the aircraft. 24.The method of claim 23, wherein the first transceiver comprises acommunication interface and a user interface, wherein the user interfacethat accepts input identifying the one or more additional inspectionpoints associated with the aircraft and the communication interfacetransmits the inspection update message to the paired inspection drone.25. The method of claim 24, wherein the user interface comprises aninteractive display interface in the control compartment for theaircraft.
 26. The method of claim 20, wherein the first transceivercomprises a mobile transceiver device physically separate from theaircraft and operative to wirelessly communicate with the pairedinspection drone, wherein the mobile transceiver device having at leastan interactive display interface that accepts input identifying the oneor more additional inspection points associated with the aircraft and awireless communication interface that transmits the inspection updatemessage to the paired inspection drone based upon the input identifyingthe additional inspection points.
 27. The method of claim 20, wherein atleast a portion of the targeted inspection points are externally exposedon the aircraft.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of thetargeted inspection points comprises a first designated inspection areaaerially accessible from above the aircraft but that is not visible froma ground level perspective relative to the aircraft.
 29. The method ofclaim 27, wherein the targeted inspection points comprise a plurality ofaircraft components of the aircraft.
 30. The method of claim 29, whereinthe plurality of aircraft components comprises at least two from thegroup consisting of a panel, a rivet, a seam, an engine, a flightcontrol surface, a window seal, a closable entry to within the aircraft,aircraft lighting, an antenna, landing gear, and tires.
 31. The methodof claim 20, wherein the step of conducting the modified inspection ofthe aircraft with the sensor-based inspection information furthercomprises capturing one or more images relative to at least one of thetargeted inspection points using an image sensor as the sensor on thepaired inspection drone.
 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the imagesensor comprises at least one of a visual imaging sensor, an infrared(IR) imaging sensor, and a thermal imaging sensor.
 33. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the step of conducting the modified inspection of theaircraft with the sensor-based inspection information further comprisessurface mapping relative to at least one of the targeted inspectionpoints using a depth sensor as the sensor on the paired inspectiondrone.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the depth sensor comprises atleast one of a LIDAR sensor and a sound transducer.
 35. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the step of conducting the modified inspection of theaircraft with the sensor-based inspection information further comprises:detecting the sensor-based inspection information for a first of thetargeted inspection points with a first type of sensor and detecting thesensor-based inspection information for a second of the targetedinspection points with a second type of sensor, wherein the modifiedinspection profile record indicates the type of sensor to use with atleast the first of the targeted inspection points and the second of theinspection points.